War of Fire
by Xorncon - Number 0
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi World War has begun. The Alliance of Fire, Sand, Earth, and Rain fight against the Union of Lightning, Mist, and Sky. Caught in the midst of the War, trying to keep balance in the world is Akatsuki. Sequel to Wrath of Fire.
1. Start of a War

The world of the shinobi is changing. The powerhouse that was the Alliance, founded by Konoha's Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, has been challenged for the first time since its founding. Their image of undeniable strength was shattered when a group called Akatsuki infiltrated the village during the Chunin Exams, and escaped from the heart of Konoha with no casualties, and even got away with the Land of Wind's Jinchuriki, Gaara of the Sand.

That event caused a second treaty to be formed between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water. The two countries had never been united since the Third Great Shinobi World War, when they combated the Alliance for the first time. They were led in battle by the Third Mizukage, Saizo Hideyoshi, and the Third Raikage of Kumogakure. That war was lost when Kumogakure lost their Raikage, and appointed the Third's son A as the Fourth Raikage. Kirigakure fought to the bitter end, until they were forced back to the shores of the mainland and back into their country. The two countries have since then been at odds with each other as Kirigakure blamed Kumo for abandoning them, and Kumogakure held Kiri, namely the Mizukage, responsible for the death of their Third Raikage.

After the death of Saizo Hideyoshi, the Jinchuriki of the Three Tails, Yagura, took over as Fourth Mizukage. He was renowned for being just as ruthless, if not more so, than Saizo. Also during Yagura's reign, the country had become shrouded in more mystery as to what the village and their people were doing.

After Akatsuki revealed themselves, and their escapade became known to the world, Yagura sought to rebuild a Union between Kirigakure and Kumogakure. While reluctant to do so, A agreed to join the two countries together in order to stand a chance against the Alliance.

During this time though, the Alliance's leaders weren't just sitting idly on their thumbs. Danzo and Sasori sent shinobi from their villages to keep an eye on Iwagakure, namely the Third Tsuchikage Onoki. While investigating the village, the team sent to the village discovered that Onoki had made dealings with Akatsuki in the past, before the events of the Chunin Exams. When it was discovered that the investigations team had found proof of Onoki's dealings with Akatsuki, he ordered the evidence to be found and destroyed before they got out of the village and revealed this to Danzo.

The investigations team retaliated by heading towards the Tsuchikage's Palace and attacking Onoki instead. After a climactic battle the Tsuchikage, who had grown old and weak, fell to the Alliance.

There were a few factors that kept Iwagakure from retaliating against the Alliance. The first was greatly due to the fact that most of the shinobi who drastically opposed being apart of the Alliance had already left the village and became rogue. The veteran shinobi either knew that fighting against Konoha and the Alliance was a big mistake, or had blamed Onoki for the state the village was in. The latter half was a very small percentage of the village though. The younger generation had grown accustom to being apart of the Alliance, and enjoyed their peaceful days. Another factor was that Onoki skewered his own granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, to try to kill one of the members of the investigations team. Kurotsuchi was nearly loved by the entire village, and had befriended most if not all of the shinobi in the village. The people of Iwagakure became horrified and shocked upon seeing their village leader nearly kill one of his own family, if not entirely lost their faith on the spot.

With the death of Onoki, and a new war on the horizon, the Alliance and Iwagakure made it their first priority to elect a new Tsuchikage. They eventually chose a man named Mao Katsu, a member of the Iwagakure Council, and long respected representative of the village. Mao started off as an Iwa ambassador, and is supportive of the Alliance and cooperation with them. Since Mao took over, Iwa and the Land of Earth have flourished in prosperity as the Alliance became more willing to cooperate with them, as Onoki's loyalties of "the village and Tsuchikage first," always put the Alliance on edge.

There was also trouble brewing in the Land of Wind, as there were rumors that the famed Honored Siblings were leaking information to the enemy about the Alliance. Sasori led an assault on the Honored Siblings' Compound with his most powerful shinobi and puppet masters. While Sasori succeeded in killing Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizo, Chiyo's apprentice, the puppet prodigy Izumi, managed to escape.

With a new Tsuchikage in office, and a pair of traitors dealt with, Danzo set his sights for one last objective before the war began: the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow had a decent military force at the very least, and had amazing technological advancements that made the other Shinobi Nations look like primitive cavemen. Though Konoha and the Land of Snow have had differences in the past, the country's daimyo, Doto Kazahana, was dealing with a rebellion of their own. Danzo sent a group of shinobi to aid the daimyo to help in any capacity to quell the rebellion.

What Doto didn't expect, and what Danzo hoped for, was the intervention of Akatsuki. Konoha had attempted to capture the long lost princess of the Land of Snow, Princess Koyuki, but the squad Danzo sent lost her to an Akatsuki squad. Danzo predicted that Akatsuki would send the princess back to the Land of Snow to liberate it from Doto's rule, and hoped that he could repel Akatsuki's attempts while gaining Doto as an ally.

The end result was not what Danzo was hoping for. Doto was dead, Koyuki was the new daimyo, and declared her country to be neutral. She also told the Alliance support team that if Danzo or his people set one foot in her country, she would join with and throw all of her support to the Union, which meant another victory for Akatsuki.

While the Land of Snow, now named the Land of Spring, wouldn't be a haven for Akatsuki or the Union at least, it also meant that Danzo had no access to any of their advanced technology. However, the Hokage had much more pressing concerns to dwell on instead of his failed attempt to increase his power. He had to organize his forces, as well as his ally's forces to prepare for war. Once their divisions were divided up, they were minus one capable commander to lead the First Division. Danzo looked to an old veteran, and former follower: Higure Haruno. The retired shinobi was radically opposed to helping Danzo anymore, as expected. He was soon swayed once Danzo manipulated Higure, telling the veteran shinobi that his niece would be put on a surefire suicide mission, led by a less than capable commander if he refused. Reluctant, and having no real choice, Higure agreed to come out of retirement.

* * *

With the war starting, the Alliance sends its forces towards the Land of Lightning to catch the first strike against their enemies, while the other half goes towards the shores to protect itself from the Land of Water. The Second and Third Divisions were heading towards the Land of Frost to establish a border to keep the Land of Lightning in its place, while also invading the country to gain some additional ground. The First, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions were all heading in the direction of the Land of Water to set up barriers and blockades to slow down the Land of Water's invasion.

At the head of the group of thousands of shinobi, Higure felt a bit uncomfortable standing next to Hiruko from Sunagakure, and the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander. He knew the reputation of both men, but that wasn't what made him uncomfortable. Since the attack on the Honored Siblings, Hiruko's body was horribly damaged, and mostly replaced by puppet parts. He was essentially a walking human puppet. Higure also knew about Hanzo's infamous affinity to poison, and how he had the gland of a legendary Black Salamander in his body. He didn't know how it worked, or where it was stored in his body, but that just made him more uncomfortable.

"Excuse me, sirs." The three Division commanders turned around to see a Konoha Jonin bow his head before his superiors. "Many of the troops were wondering when we might rest. A lot of us back here are collapsing from sheer exhaustion and are being carried or dragged. One soldier almost got trampled to death."

"Then they're weak," Hiruko snapped. "We keep moving until we get to the shoreline!"

"Now, now, don't be so hasty," Hanzo replied evenly. "We'll move forward a few more miles and then take a two hour break. Does that sound fair soldier?"

"Yes sir, thank you sir." The Jonin turned around and molded back into the crowd. The three commanders turned forward and continued marching.

"That was surprisingly kind Lord Hanzo," Higure pointed out.

"It won't do us any good if we're stomping on our own troops before the war even starts. But on the other hand, it will do us even less if we don't get to the shores in time and the Land of Water begins their invasion." Higure nodded in agreement before turning his eyes to the distance. Hanzo then looked over to the Konoha commander with an intrigued look in his eye. "I'm surprised you came out of retirement though. Is it because you have a score to settle with the Land of Water?"

Higure's eyes fell to the ground and narrowed slightly as he remembered the Third War. "If anything…the Land of Water has a score to settle with me."

"How noble sounding," Hiruko spat angrily. "You make it sound as if you were the singular cause of why Konoha won that war."

Higure huffed and turned to Hiruko with a mocking smirk, "Not me alone, no. Hell, I was less than a fraction of the reason Konoha won that war."

"Are the rumors true then?" Hiruko looked over at Hanzo with a curious hum. Higure continued to look forward, ignoring the stare he was receiving from Amegakure's leader. "Were you apart of the team that took down the Third Mizukage, the Demon of the Hidden Mist?" The Suna commander's head whirled around, eyes wide with shock as he looked up at Higure.

The First Division's commander sighed before he put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you sir."

"Acting cryptic won't get you anywhere with me boy," Hanzo said with a warning hint in his voice. Higure continued to look up with an unfazed expression.

"May I ask why the Regimental Commander for the Alliance army is out here with the rest of us? Isn't Orochimaru supposed to be the leader of the Fifth Division?"

"The majority of the Fifth Division is helping to establish a military settlement closer to the battle grounds. Our job is to establish a perimeter, and Orochimaru and his men will start building the settlement within a reasonable location between the battlefield and Konoha. Your village will act as the main source of resources for this war, as they'll be delivered to Konoha from Iwa, Suna, and Ame. The military settlement will act as a middle-ground between Konoha and the battlefield for shipments and reinforcements."

"And Lord Orochimaru is less of a frontline fighter than you? With due respect Lord Hanzo, I feel really safe behind a group of colossal snakes rampaging through the battlefield."

"Need I remind you I bested all three of the Sannin at once by myself," the Ame leader questioned. He shifted his eyes to Higure, waiting for an answer. Higure instead remained silent, conceding the point to the village leader.

Sakura looked back and forth, looking between the countless men and women around her. The concept that all of these people would be fighting alongside her against a common enemy, and that most of them could be killed in combat was something she couldn't get her head around, even at that point in time. She looked to her teammates, Zaku and Dosu, both of whom seemed to be ready to go to war. She wished she had their determination at this point. There was a voice of doubt in the back of her head that told her she shouldn't be here. What made it worse was that she couldn't talk to her uncle at this point to help her through it.

In the pit of her stomach, Sakura was worried, and wondered if she would encounter Naruto on the battlefield again. She didn't know how their meeting would go if they met again, especially if they were in the midst of a full-blown war. Sakura also couldn't help but wonder what Naruto was thinking. Was he as confused as she was about this war?

* * *

Naruto was assigned to a reconnaissance battalion, whose mission was to infiltrate deep into Alliance territory and collect tabs on all of the Alliance villages and countries. Naruto was in Nagato's group, which put him in familiar territory as far as teammates went. Much to Naruto's frustration however, he was stuck building a quick, and easily disposable outpost for Akatsuki to take shelter in during their reconnaissance mission.

"This is stupid!" Naruto tossed a piece of lumber across the open yard in annoyance. "Why can't I be out there helping with the reconnaissance?"

"Probably because you can't help but scream if something pisses you off," Kiba snapped. "Kinda like now. I don't get why I'm not out there! My nose would help, no doubt!"

"Nagato-san is infiltrating Amegakure," Neji stated as he carried a crate towards the two. "With the constant raining, from which the village gets its name from, your nose would hardly be able to pick up anything less than a powerful scent."

"So then what's your reason for being stuck with grunt work like the rest of us then?"

Neji smiled at Naruto as he set the crate on the ground, "To keep an eye on you two."

"So then what's he doing here," Kiba asked as he pointed his nose in Hidan's direction. The scythe-wielding priest sat on a distant rock, eyes closed and prayer beads in his hands. The three boys stared at the silver haired man for a second before looking back at one another.

"He's here to stay out of trouble," Neji replied. "And to keep him from going on a massacre in Amegakure."

Kiba huffed as he pushed the last post into the soft ground. Naruto pulled the tarp over the posts and created a couple of clones that sprung up on the posts to nail the tarp over the quickly little hole-in-the-ground they called a fort.

"You think this'll be good enough," Naruto asked.

"We're assigned to build outposts and hideaways for our comrades, should they need supplies or to hide if Alliance forces catch them. We don't need to give them the lavishing furnishes of a palace." Kiba snorted at Neji's comment before picking up his shuriken pouch and tying it around his waist.

"Yeah, cause any of us have been inside a palace."

"Land of Snow's Palace," Neji quickly retorted with a grin on his face.

"Ditto," Naruto added.

"Ya know what, screw the both of ya!" Naruto and Neji both laughed together before the latter turned his head towards the priest.

"Hey, Hidan, we're done here! Are you ready to head out?" The priest nodded and then slid off of his rock. The Naruto clones hopped down from the posts and walked towards the wagon of supplies the team was given to build their small outposts. They started pulling while the other three boys took the lead, with Hidan hopping into and sitting in the back of the wagon.

"So shouldn't there be a bigger outpost where we all meet up at after recon," Naruto asked Neji. "Or are we all just scrambling back to the hideout?"

"There is a bigger outpost, but it's being build by more experienced, and capable men and women," Neji replied. "The four of us, plus a couple of other smaller groups are assigned with building these smaller safe havens for any spies who need to hide if they get caught, or if they need extra food or supplies."

"And we mark their locations on this map," Kiba explained as he made an 'X' over their location. "So Nagato can make a map that shows all of the outposts everyone set up. That way when we have to take care of the harder recon missions, everyone knows where these outposts are at."

"Makes sense," Naruto murmured as he leaned to the side to view Kiba's map. "Really smart too. Don't other villages use tactics like these?"

"Not really. The Alliance reports every little detail to Konoha, and even then Danzo plants spies from his personal branch of the ANBU Black Ops, codenamed Root. Kirigakure is far enough away, and has so many islands in the Land of Water to hide covert activities it's hard to keep tabs on them. And the Land of Lightning is very vigilant about spies in it's country."

"So did we come up with this idea?"

"Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan came up with it when they first started Akatsuki," Neji said. "When you start with an organization with a little over a dozen people, you need to get creative I suppose." Naruto and Kiba nodded silently in agreement. Neji turned his head to look over his shoulder, "Hey, Hidan, how many more outposts can we make with the supplies we have?" Hidan groaned as his prayers were interrupted, but turned around and took tally of the supplies they had.

"Two or three more I'd say," Hidan replied. "Depends on how shitty you wanna make these outposts." Neji rolled his eyes at the priest's comment. "Can I go back to my prayers now?"

"Pray away." Hidan huffed and closed his eyes again, raising up his prayer beads to his mouth. "Let's finish this up and then meet up with the rest of the squadron, right men?" Kiba and Naruto both smiled, the former rolling his eyes with a noisy huff.

"Right-o captain," Naruto exclaimed.

* * *

Close to the heart of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru stood on the edge of a ridge as he watched many shinobi destroying the land and building up a military settlement. Standing behind him, Kin held a clipboard and was scribbling something down on paper. "The progress of the settlement seems to be going well Lord Orochimaru. May I ask though, why you're putting so much effort into this one settlement?"

"Orders from our esteemed Hokage," the Sannin replied without so much as turning his head.

Kin raised a questioning brow, "Didn't the Alliance leaders agree to make several similarly sized settlements, that way they could avoid the bulk of their supplies being targeted by Akatsuki or the Union?"

"That was before many of Konoha's citizens 'volunteered,' to help out in this war in the settlements." Kin smirked a bit as put her pen behind her ear.

"Really? Now how ever did Danzo get the Daimyo to agree to that?"

"Same way his Root agents got the citizens to volunteer: genjutsu, mind manipulation, bribery, blackmail, the usual." Kin chuckled as she shook her head and took her pen to write down more on the clipboard. "Oh, Kin, one more thing." The black haired girl stopped mid-turn and looked at her superior. "The settlement in the south, the one closer to the Land of Waves…"

"Yes my Lord?"

"Assign its construction to people I can trust, or any of my sleeper agents within the Alliance."

"The one's Danzo is or isn't aware of?"

Orochimaru turned his head slightly, causing Kin to tense up a little, "Which do you think my dear? I want my own secret outpost in this war. Somewhere I can concoct my experiments in secret."

"And I'm guessing since you'll be busy most of this war, you want me to do the experiments for you and have the findings delivered to you?"

Orochimaru turned his head back to the construction and nodded, "That would be most wise of you my dear." Kin bowed her head and then left Orochimaru on his own, overseeing the construction of the Alliance's main military settlement.

* * *

The First, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions had all started their construction of barricades to slow down the advance of the Land of Water when they invaded. The Division commanders all sat together on the outskirts of the construction, watching their men and women running around and hastily building and raising walls up.

"Shouldn't we be helping them," Higure asked, "or at least be directing them?"

"I thought we should've kept moving forward," Hiruko snapped, "Start building barricades on the ocean-line and work our way back."

"We've talked about this. If we did that, and Kirigakure forces attacked sooner than we anticipate then that takes out our first line of defense. If we build a few trenches and barricades in the back and then work our way to the front, then we'll have somewhere to fall back to if the enemy shows up too early."

"He's right Hiruko," Hanzo stated. The Suna commander grumbled bitterly and turned away from his fellow leaders. "If you're so intent on being stubborn, then take your men and start building barricades closer to the shoreline." Hanzo pointed off to the distance, where the vast ocean was in sight. "It's no more than a stone's throw away from here."

"As you wish," Hiruko bitterly murmured as he began to walk towards that direction. "HEY! Any shinobi under my command go to the shoreline! We're going to start building defenses up there!"

Several men and woman immediately followed their commander, and a few even rushed past him to get a head-start on building the defenses along the shoreline. Hanzo watched Hiruko and several of his men head towards the ocean before turning to the other commander. The Salamander stared at Higure for a moment, who was scanning through the crowds of people working and building together.

"Something on your mind commander," Hanzo mused.

"Just…weird to be back here I guess…" Hanzo hummed softly and nodded his head in understanding. Higure narrowed his eyes a bit and sighed. "It seems like all I do anymore is think about the past…"

"Well, these are the bloodiest shores in shinobi history," Hanzo stated. "This is where the last battle of the previous World War took place."

"The battle with Saizo Hideyoshi," Higure murmured. "This wasn't the final battleground of that war unfortunately. That was on the dead and forgotten lands of Uzushiogakure."

"That's the former village of the Uzumaki Clan is it not," Hanzo questioned. Higure nodded and leaned back. "What battle took place there?"

"The battle that me and my former teammates, the Six Paths of Shinobi, fought against Saizo Hideyoshi himself.

"So, those rumors are true. Danzo hasn't told me much about that special little team he made. Who was on it again? You of course, and your sister if I'm not mistaken…"

"Me, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Saiki Haruno, Satoru Teki, and Junichi-,"

"Excuse me sir," a shinobi called out. Hanzo and Higure lifted their heads up, the former a little irate with the interruption. "How far back are these barricades supposed to go?"

"For at least a mile boy," Hanzo snapped. "Have someone go up to Hiruko and tell him to set traps between this barricade and his!"

"Yes sir," the shinobi replied before turning around, "One mile back men!"

Hanzo turned his attention back to Higure, "All of those prodigies against one man…I'd wager that was no challenge at all for you six."

"You'd be surprised Hanzo-san," Higure murmured. The Salamander hummed softly, slightly more intrigued. "You yourself managed to fight the Three Legendary Sannin and even gave them their moniker. With Saizo though…fighting against him was like fighting another war."

"Do explain. I've never fought the man personally, but I've heard much about his reputation. I haven't heard many stories of anyone fighting him on his own."

Higure leaned back again and sighed heavily, rubbing his hands against his pants. "Well…I'm sure you've heard of his immeasurably oppressing chakra right?" Hanzo nodded once. "That's true. His chakra levels are immense, and inhuman. I was surprised he wasn't a Jinchuriki, or a Bijuu himself."

"Wasn't he one of two known people in history to master all of the Seven Great Swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"He wasn't using the blade Kisame Hoshigaki is using. He was using Kubikiribocho, a sword that regenerates any damage done to itself by harvesting the iron in a person's blood to fix itself. His skill with that sword, his speed, his power, chakra levels…they were all on another level. I can't think of a single human being who could take him on in single combat and live. Even Kushina, who was the former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi had trouble taking him down when she unleashed some of the demon's chakra."

"I'm sorry Higure, but with the six of you, the Chakra-Leech, the Yellow Flash, your sister the Chakra-Princess, the Hot-Blooded Jinchuriki, Satoru the Mountain Smasher, and…who was the last one?"

"Junichi, the Shinobi of the Sound Waves," Higure replied. Hanzo's eyes widened briefly at the name before shaking his head.

"With those six, you all had trouble taking down one man?"

Higure smirked a little bit and stood up from his rock, "There's something you have to remember about Saizo is that he's not a human…" The commander started to walk away from Hanzo, greatly baffling his fellow commander. Higure turned around, still smirking, "He's a demon." With that, the First Division commander turned forward and walked into the crowds of soldiers building and readying their defenses.

Hanzo huffed before standing up as well, "Nonsense…six fully capable shinobi like that having trouble with one man…"

"What the hell is that?" Hanzo and hundreds of other shinobi all turned their heads to one man pointing up into the sky. Instantly, everyone looked to the horizon, seeing countless black specks dotting the sky. The shinobi of the Alliance stood by, murmuring amongst themselves on what was approaching.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Hanzo looked down towards the shoreline, seeing Hiruko screaming at everyone else. "They're attacking!"

"Shit," Hanzo seethed, "Anyone who can use earth style ninjutsu, raise up any type of wall you can make! We need defenses up now!" All the shinobi started scrambling amongst themselves, with the bulk of Iwagakure shinobi heading towards the front. "If anyone has a weapons scroll, bring out any weapons you think can hit those damn things!"

"What are those Lord Hanzo," an Ame shinobi asked.

"I don't know, but I doubt they're friendly if they're in force…"

"Alright you maggots, if you're not ready to attack then at least be ready to die," Hiruko snapped as he clapped his hands together. The half man-puppet placed his palms on the ground, erupting a giant cloud of smoke behind himself. Several other shinobi from Sunagakure summoned their puppets or wind fans ready, including Temari, while the shinobi from other villages grabbed a series of weapons. The smoke cleared behind Hiruko, revealing his signature Scorpion puppet. "Get ready!" The frontline shinobi braced themselves for whatever was to come.

Sakura was knelt down with a weapons scroll unraveled before her, ready to summon her ninja tools at any moment along with Dosu. Zaku knelt down on one knee, ready to use his air tubes to propel the projectiles.

"Aren't there a few members of the Akimichi Clan amongst our ranks," Hanzo questioned.

"Yes sir," a large man stated as he approached the front. "Choza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi Clan at your service."

"Can you or any other members of your Clan in this group use the super expansion jutsu to its fullest?"

"Just me sir."

"Fine, expand your size to its fullest once the bastards get close enough to us, then swat them out of the skies like the flies they are!" Choza nodded then headed towards the back while Hanzo continued to move through the ranks.

"Hiashi Hyuga," Higure called out, standing firmly in his position. The head of the Hyuga Clan quickly approached the commander.

"Yes Higure-san?"

"You and any other member of your Clan are on defensive duty. Your Clan's rotation technique could save some lives here today, got it?"

"Consider it done." Hiashi turned around and walked back into the mass of soldiers, "Members of the Hyuga Clan, come! We're going to defend every single man and woman we can, understand?"

"Anyone else who can't strike from long distance, you're on defensive duty! Earth style users, if you're done with the defenses, head to the back and start building trenches for the medical shinobi to heal our wounded!" Several Iwa shinobi started scrambling towards the rear, while many more stayed in the front to continue build walls of earth and other forms of defense from the airborne enemies.

Hanzo stepped up next to Higure in the center of their troops, most of who were knelt down and ready to mortar their weapons at the enemies in the sky. Higure was looking ahead through a pair of binoculars. "What is it," Hanzo asked. "What're we up against?"

"I'm guessing…shinobi from the Land of Sky…"

"What," Hanzo snapped. "How can you be sure? The Alliance took out that country years ago!"

"Well…judging from the fact they're all in the sky…and flying…and last I checked neither Kirigakure nor Kumogakure ninjas could fly…" Hanzo scowled and shoved Higure violently to the side before storming off to prepare himself for an attack. The First Regiment commander turned and looked at Hanzo before peering back through his binoculars. He quickly lowered his hands and started walking forward, "Any prominent wind style users, come with me on the double!"

The commander ran forward as several shinobi looked amongst themselves before following him. Sakura stared at her uncle with confusion and worry before a sharp whistle from Zaku recaptured her attention.

Hanzo, from the sidelines summoned his giant salamander, which gave off a strange gurgle before its master jumped on him. "Ibuse, get ready to unleash your fire style," Hanzo ordered. The salamander gurgled before a strange rumbling game from its stomach.

A handful of shinobi followed Higure who headed to the other side of the troops, "Alright, listen carefully, because this is going to be a stupid idea and I won't have time to go over it twice." The shinobi all looked to each other with a mutual confused, and worried, look on their faces.

Hiruko's group all braced themselves as the enemy came closer. The Regiment commander himself braced himself on the back of his Scorpion before wiggling his fingers to adjust the tail. The end of the puppet's sharpened tail opened up, revealing a small opening.

"Hold your fire until I make the first shot, understand men," Hiruko shouted. The shinobi all shifted or swallowed nervously. Hiruko narrowed his eyes as his fingers twitched ever so slightly with anticipation. "Steady…steady…"

The front line of the flying shinobi raised up their weapons and aimed them at the shinobi on the ground.

Hiruko twitched his index finger forward, causing his Scorpion to launch a giant ball out from its tail and up into the sky. The ball flew into the center of a group of the flying ninjas before exploding outward into hundreds of needles that flew in all directions. The needles struck dozens of the Sky shinobi, causing them to groan and fall from the skies.

"FIRE!"

The shinobi of the Fourth Division unleashed a barrage of kunai, blasts of wind, shuriken, needles, poison bombs, paper bombs, and in Kidomaru's case arrows up into the skies. The shinobi from the Land of Sky unleashed volleys of kunai from their hand-held kunai launchers, raining down the sharpened blades into their enemies. Other version of the flying devises rained down beams of chakra that exploded in the centers of the shinobi.

Hiruko used his Scorpion puppet to launch concentrated blasts of chakra from the puppet's tail while firing hundreds of needles from the pinchers, dropping countless Sky shinobi like flies. Kidomaru continuously and quickly launched arrow after arrow from his mouth, a few of which would explode outward into a mass of sticky webs that would prevent the Sky shinobi from flying. Temari swung her fan back and forth, either deflecting volleys of kunai or sending up blasts of wind to knock the enemy out of the sky.

The soldiers in the back all grew increasingly nervous as their enemies got past the front lines and were heading directly for them. "Take them all down once you think they're within range," Hanzo shouted from the sidelines. "Ibuse, take them down!"

Hanzo's salamander opened its mouth and unleashed giant balls of fire out in a mortar style into the waves of flying shinobi. While the fireballs weren't exactly accurate, the resulting explosions within the ranks either threw them off balance or set them on fire.

Choza grew into a giant and started swinging his arms and staff into the oncoming enemy. With the Akimichi leader's expansion, the rest of the army started their upward attack into the skies.

Higure watched the battle commence before letting out a quick sigh to steady his nerves. "Alright, everyone better get ready!" The shinobi all nodded and fastened down. "GO!" Higure quickly began to form a series of hand seals as the shinobi all ran past him. The commander quickly took in a deep breath and clapped his palms together. The shinobi all used their chakra to send out bursts of wind from beneath themselves, springing up several feet within the air. _'Wind style…hurricane gale!_' Higure exhaled his breath, releasing a wide-spread, forceful blast of wind that shook the ground. The shinobi who had already sprung into the air were propelled even further high and more forward, right into the midst of the enemy shinobi.

The Alliance shinobi landed on top of several flying enemies and quickly began their assault, destroying the flyers or killing the shinobi themselves before springing to another flyer and doing the same.

Higure hunched over and let out a heavy sigh of disbelief, "I can't believe that actually worked…" The commander arched his neck before hopping up and down a little bit in place. "Well, I guess it's my turn!" Higure ran forward before darting into the sky with one jump. He slammed into an enemy flyer, grabbed the wing and causing the shinobi pilot to roll over once before Higure flipped into the air upon releasing him. He landed on the back of the shinobi and sprung off again, but not before placing a paper bomb on his back.

Sakura and Dosu kept throwing their weapons forward and Zaku used his air tubes to propel them forward at tremendous speeds, tearing through the pilot and mechanical flyer both whenever they would hit.

"Excuse me!" The trio turned their heads as a young man scrambled down next to them, "You're a medical ninja right?"

"I know a little bit of medical ninjutsu, yeah," Sakura replied.

"Can you please come with me," the boy pleaded. "We don't have nearly enough medical shinobi in this group!" Sakura turned to Zaku and Dosu, both who nudged their heads towards the boy.

"Alright," Sakura replied with a firm nod. "I'll help!" The pink haired kunoichi quickly got up and followed the young boy.

On the front lines, heavy casualties were being taken from both sides. Hiruko's scorpion helped immensely on the Alliance's side with taking a bulk of the damage, as well as dealing most of the pain to the enemy.

However, while the Alliance on the frontlines were focused on the skies, very few noticed the shinobi from Kirigakure rising from the shoreline and storming the beach. The long-range fighters were quickly taken off guard and overpowered by the savagery and killing efficiency of Kirigakure shinobi, and quickly had to divide their attention to two different fronts.

Hanzo looked to the frontlines while Ibuse still fired his flame mortars and noticed the troubles Hiruko was now dealing with. "Damn it! Ibuse, dig underground and prepare to attack the Kiri shinobi!" Hanzo sprung into the air as Ibuse lifted up his head and opened his mouth. The commander fell into his summon's mouth as it shut it closed and then dug underground.

Higure landed on the back of a single Sora-nin's flyer and looked back to the frontlines, seeing the heavy amount of chaos going on. "Well crap…" Higure slammed his foot at the back of the flyer, breaking off the tail and causing it to nose-dive towards the ground. The commander sprung upward just before the flyer and its pilot crashed into the ground. Higure stood at the head of the army that was taking out the shinobi from the rear. "HEY! Get ready to take the pressure off the frontlines!" A squad at the very front nodded intently at their commander, "Get one of you and spread the word! I'm heading to the frontlines to tell them to take their attention of the skies!" Higure turned around and sprinted down the beach, using chakra in his feet to increase his speed.

Choza swung his staff forward, knocking out several dozen flyers out of the air at once, "Everyone! We're gonna take on the brunt of these flying bastards now! Get ready!"

Ibuse came out from underground, right under the ocean floor where he released Hanzo. The two of them saw hundreds of Kirigakure shinobi swimming towards the shores. Hanzo and Ibuse both darted forward and tremendous speeds, the former readying his blade before they both started a killing spree underwater.

Higure made it to the frontlines where he immediately took out a Kiri shinobi and took his katana, "Focus on the Kirigakure shinobi!" The commander moved between his comrade shinobi, cutting down his enemies while giving orders, "Our allies in the back will take care of the Sora-nin! Focus on Kirigakure!" Higure got closer to the center of the battlefield where Hiruko was with his Scorpion, fighting off a mob of deadly Kiri shinobi. Higure came up behind one and ran the shinobi through, catching the attention of his two comrades. "Hiruko," Higure cried out before going on the defensive from the two Kiri shinobi, "Tell your men to take their focus off of the Sora shinobi! The First and Fifth Divisions will take care of them!"

"Oh yeah, sure," Hiruko shouted as his Scorpion's tail tried to strike a group of enemy shinobi, "Tell the long range fighters to focus on a close range fight! Smart fucking idea Haruno!"

"Would you rather retreat," Higure questioned before blocking a strike from the enemy's tanto.

"LISTEN UP," Hiruko shouted, "Focus on the Kirigakure shinobi! Let the Sky shinobi fly over us so the others can take them out from the rear!" Higure rolled his eyes at his fellow commander's predictability before parrying two more strikes.

As soon as the Fourth Division took its focus off the airborne enemies, the Sky ninja returned the favor and focused on the backline support. More casualties were taken in the backlines with the Sora-nin focusing more on them, but it also forced the Alliance backlines to fight harder.

Dosu tossed up more and more weapons for Zaku to blast upward, eventually exhausting both of them. "This sucks," Dosu quickly snapped as he threw more weapons upward.

"Tell me about it! We're up-close and personal! Not long range!" Dosu paused and turned around to look at his partner with a mischievous look in his eyes. Zaku looked at his teammate and grinned with the same look before they both nodded to each other.

Zaku knelt down as Dosu ran towards him. The masked boy jumped into the air and landed his feet flat against Zaku's palms. Zaku rose up to his feet and released a powerful blast from his air tubes as Dosu shot himself forward with his legs. The resulting combination sent Dosu flying into the air, towards the enemies. The masked boy soared through the air and barely managed to latch onto a flyer.

"Alright, my turn," Zaku told himself. The boy ran straight ahead before diving forward and catching himself on his hands. He pushed upward with his arms and then released another powerful blast from his air tubes that sent him flying into the air head over heels again and again. The boy landed hard on a flyer, causing it to shake a bit. "Holy shit!" Zaku turned his head, hearing Dosu laugh and saw his partner springing from flyer to flyer, leaving a trail of destroyed mechanics behind him.

"This is more like it!" Zaku huffed before destroying the flyer he was on and springing towards his partner. "Bet I can take out more than you!"

"You're so on!" The two boys then started a competition of destruction, wiping out one flyer after another.

Sakura became increasingly anxious in her healing duties. It seemed that every time she finished healing one patient, two more wounded shinobi would show up, along with a dead one. Needless to say, she prayed for a quick end to the violence and bloodshed.

"Get down," someone shouted. Sakura turned her head as a volley of kunai came right at her. The pink haired girl quickly covered the wounded soldier she was healing with her own body. Hiashi sprung between the blades and the medic and quickly used his rotation in mid-air to deflect the blades. The Hyuga Clan leader landed on the ground as the Sora-nin flew above them.

"Are you alright Sakura," Hiashi asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"I'm fine, thank you," the pink haired medic replied. Hiashi nodded then quickly ran to help with additional defense.

The battle continued for what seemed to feel like hours, while in reality it was less than thirty minutes. The Sky shinobi all suddenly started to turn around and retreat. The Alliance shinobi were confused, while others cheered at their seeming victory. As the flying ninjas passed overhead, the Kirigakure shinobi also retreated quickly into the water, using their chakra to swim away quickly.

The frontline shinobi all cheered with relief and in victory at driving their enemies off. Higure simply fell on his rear with a heavy and thankful sigh. Hanzo emerged from the water, looking over his shoulder at the fleeing enemy as he approached Hiruko and Higure.

"How odd that they would suddenly retreat," Hanzo murmured.

"It is getting close to night," Hiruko stated. "Any moron with a brain knows that fighting in the dark is just stupid and bloody. Too much confusion to know if you're cutting down an enemy or an ally."

"It might've been something else as well." Hanzo and Hiruko turned to Higure who stared off at the horizon. "You noticed that the Sora-nin preferred to use those kunai launchers instead of ninjutsu? I also felt a fair number of their chakra levels were pretty low too." Hanzo and Hiruko hummed softly as they looked at their enemy becoming little more than dots in the distance. "I'd wager that those little flying machines take chakra to keep airborne. And seeing that the battle lasted a little less than an hour, I'd bet it takes a lot of chakra."

"Well then, we should get that little bit of information back to headquarters," Hiruko stated.

"First we should salvage as much of the wreckage as we can to send back," Hanzo added. "So they can run tests to make sure. Hiruko, put together a salvage party to find any wreckage worthwhile. Kill any enemy survivors, and have any injured allies taken to the medics immediately." The puppet master nodded then walked towards his men, immediately calling their attention. Hanzo looked to Higure, "You get together our forces to continue building our defenses on the shoreline and beyond. Just because it's about to get dark doesn't me we can't build right?"

"Of course Hanzo," Higure nodded then quickly ran to the backlines. The Salamander followed Higure, intending to get a report of the number of casualties to update their HQ.

* * *

Naruto yawned as he, Neji, Kiba, and Hidan all headed back to their central outpost. "Tired," Neji asked.

"Little bit," Naruto replied. "We've walked who knows how many miles and have been building all day. I'll be happy if I can just be allowed to sleep through the night."

"Oh come on, you were all ready and eager to fight a war earlier today," Kiba teased. "How're you supposed to fight when you get worn out from building?"

"I'm too tired to care about responding to you." The team of four got to the top of a hill and saw their outpost where a few Akatsuki shinobi were conversing and pacing about. The boys left the wagon outside before heading towards the entrance. Hidan also got out of the wagon and followed the boys, though he was far less interested in the commotion going on.

As they got to the entrance, Naruto pushed the opening flap to the side and walked down a couple of stairs into a small, central room. Nagato seemed distraught across the room as he was talking with another shinobi. The redhead nodded and the other shinobi left.

"Hey, Nagato," Naruto greeted. The Akatsuki leader looked a bit surprised before he smiled at the kids.

"Hey Naruto. Get everything set up I hope?"

"Yeah, we did," the blonde answered. "What's going on around here?" Nagato sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well…apparently the villages of Taki and Kusa are being hunted by the Alliance, since they've formed an unofficial treaty with one another to cause trouble for them. Basically like we do in Akatsuki." Nagato sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Unlike us though, they're gonna end up getting destroyed because they can't communicate with one another, leaving their men confused and flighty."

"Are we going to help them," Neji inquired.

"I dunno yet…I've sent the information to HQ where the others will review our findings, then they'll send us back orders on whether or not we should act."

"That'll take forever though," Naruto shouted. "If we help Kusagakure and Takigakure then they'll join and help us out too! We can't just let them get taken over by the Alliance!"

"We're in the middle of Alliance territory Naruto," Nagato stated. "And we're outfitted for reconnaissance, not any form of a war, large or small scale. Believe me, I want to help too, but it's risky. If they send in a large group of reinforcements, that means we have a greater chance of being discovered in Alliance territory. For now, we keep gathering information on each of the Alliance countries and villages and collect as much intel as we can before doing anything risky. Okay?"

Naruto glared at his feet before nodding once, "Alright…" Nagato nodded before walking past the trio of boys to attend to other matters. "This sucks…"

"I'm surprised you actually listened to orders for once," Neji stated. Naruto shrugged and sat on a nearby crate.

"Well…this is important. For Akatsuki, and the whole shinobi world…I realize I'm just a fourteen year old kid and all, and that the adults are more experienced to give me orders and such…" Kiba and Neji stared at their blonde companion with wide, astonished eyes. Naruto sighed before catching his friend's surprised gazes, throwing him for a loop. "Um…what…?"

"Are you sure you're Naruto," Kiba asked as he poked his friend's cheek. The Inuzuka boy then took a deep sniff next to Naruto's face, grossing the blonde out while annoying him. "Smells like him…"

"Let me double check," Neji offered as he activated his Byakugan.

"Oh screw all of you," Naruto exclaimed with a laugh.

"Captain, over here!" The heads of everyone within earshot turned to the cry of a young man. Naruto, Kiba, and Neji all rushed over and out of the outpost to see a group of Akatsuki shinobi huddled around something. Nagato pushed through his men, causing them to part an opening for him to stand over Izumi, Ranmaru, and Izumi all tending to the wounds of a shinobi from Takigakure.

"What is this," Nagato questioned, looking directly at Izumi.

"We found him while setting up outposts, and I couldn't just let him die," the puppeteer replied as she placed a wet rag on the injured man's forehead. Izumi, Ranmaru, and Haku's eyes fell onto the young man and softened. They knew he wasn't much older than fifteen at least.

"He's not going to survive," Nagato whispered. Ranmaru looked up at the redhead in shock while Izumi and Haku's eyes lowered at knowing this fact.

"I wasn't about to let him die in the middle of a field somewhere to be picked off by vultures," Izumi replied evenly. "At least we can make his last few hours comfortable."

"What's he doing so far outside of his home country," one member of Akatsuki questioned.

The injured shinobi coughed noisily, catching Akatsuki's attention, "I…m-my squad was sent to assist our allies in K-Kusagakure. W-we were ambushed by Alliance forces…" The boy started coughing again while everyone else gave him their full attention. "W-we were getting slaughtered…I-I was ordered to leave and tell our leader b-but a team of four from Amegakure followed me. I m-managed to stay ahead of them a-and planned on losing them b-but…there was one woman with green hair…and wings!" The Akatsuki rogue murmured the last word amongst themselves, wondering what the boy meant. "S-she injured me a-and left me to die before joining the rest of the Alliance forces to eliminate my squad…"

"A woman with green hair and wings," Nagato murmured, "That might've been the Jinchuriki of the Nanabi."

"A-A Jinchuriki…? I guess I should be happy I got as far as I did…" The young boy chuckled weakly before it caused him to go into a fit of coughs. As the rogues watched the pitiful sight, the boy opened his eyes. "Y-you guys are Akatsuki…right?"

"We are," Izumi answered with a nod.

The boy let out a couple of more coughs, "P-please…y-you have to help us, Takigakure a-and Kusagakure both!"

"What you see are all the men and women we brought with us," Nagato stated softly, his tone apologetic. "We're not fitted to get involved in a war right now until our leaders send us reinforcements."

"N-no, don't th-throw your men away like that…" Nagato's brow furrowed in confusion at the boy's words. The rest of Akatsuki stared at the boy quizzically as well before he continued. "W-we all know…this is gonna go o-one way…the leaders of Taki and K-Kusa know it. We're just determined to give take down a-as much of those Alliance bastards as we can…"

"Then what do you want us to do," Nagato asked.

The boy coughed again, this time blood came out of his mouth, "O-our leaders a-are moving civilians from Kusa, and other, smaller villages i-into Takigakure. Our village has n-never been successfully invaded, a-and is next to impossible to find…b-but there was one of us a-amongst Alliance troops…a traitor. Th-that's why I was ordered to head back to Takigakure…because it's not longer safe. I-I had to tell them th-that Suien was amongst them…"

"Who," Izumi asked as the boy went into a fit of coughs.

"S-Suien! H-he was th-the former teacher of o-our current leader, Sh-Shibuki…" The boy sat up and coughed fitfully, wheezing after more blood came out of his mouth. Izumi's eyes softened, knowing the boy didn't have much longer. "P-please…tell Shibuki of Suien's siding with the Alliance…tell him you'll help evacuate our people and move them…p-please…I'm not asking you to fight a war…"

Nagato took a step forward and knelt down next to the boy before taking his hand and giving it a firm squeeze, "We'll do our best. Akatsuki doesn't have the best reputation as you know though, but we'll try to make contact with your leader and offer our support."

"Th-thank…you…" The boy started taking in desperate, wheezing breathes. A few moments after, the boy's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he gave out his last breathe of life.

Nagato released the boy's hand and rose up to his feet, "We have a new objective everyone…we're going to aid Kusa and Taki."

"But Nagato-sama," an older member of Akatsuki snapped, "what about our mission to retrieve intelligence on the Alliance?"

"We're dividing this team into two. All of our smaller outposts are set up right?" The small building teams all nodded. "Good, then you can still use those." Nagato turned to the older Akatsuki member that he just spoke to, "Ken, you're in charge of reconnaissance operations until I get back. Try to make contact with me as soon as we get word back from HQ."

"Yes sir, but who are you going to take with you?"

Nagato turned to the younger members of Akatsuki and put his hands on his hips, narrowing his Rinnegan eyes skeptically, "If I assign all of you to aid only in moving and defending citizens, do you think you can do that?"

"No problem," Neji replied with a nod. Kiba also nodded with a stern, determined look on his face.

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Naruto murmured, clenching his fists tightly. The blonde secretly hoped he would get the chance to fight the Alliance members who did this to the poor Taki boy.

"Alright, Naruto, Neji, Haku, Ranmaru, Kiba, you all are with me. Izumi, Hidan, you'll both be coming with me too."

"Understood," Izumi replied with a nod.

"Aiding and helping people escape death…that conflicts with my beliefs of slaying the wicked you know?"

"You two are coming along for defensive purposes. The boys here will focus on getting civilians out of fire quickly and safely, while you two will help with fighting off anyone who tries to attack us."

Hidan sneered, almost in a wicked sense himself, "That's more like it!"

"Let's go," Nagato ordered before taking the lead down the hill. The five young boys, Izumi and Hidan all followed their redheaded leader. "I'm going to try to use my sensory abilities to find some Taki or Kusa shinobi, and offer our assistance. Nobody act violent towards them when we find them! If they attack first, defend yourself and run away. These people are throwing their lives down on the line to give us and the Union a better fighting chance against the Alliance, we don't need to cause more problems for them, understood?"

"Yes sir," the small squad of seven replied in unison.

* * *

In an Alliance camp settlement in the Land of Grass, the men and women in the camp were all getting ready for the night. In the main military tent, the ones in charge of the war against Kusa and Taki were discussing their next course of action.

"This is getting ridiculous," one man snapped before throwing a file across the central table. "They're getting suicidal now. They're costing us more men killing themselves than when they actually tried to fight back." The man wore an Amegakure headband around his arm, hand dark green, spiky hair, and a burn on the upper right half of his face. "You never told us your fellow villagers practiced in the art of kamikaze Suien!"

Across the table, a man with long spiky hair, dark piercing eyes, and a goatee, wearing an Amegakure flak jacket stared calmly up at the angry commander, "I didn't see this coming to be frank with you Kandachi. Shibuki has always been a coward. The fact that he's fighting back at all is a surprise to me. Now, if he's recklessly throwing away his own shinobi to try to kill as many of you as possible, then that means he and his men are ready to die to cause as many problems for the Alliance as possibly."

"We could just employ more long range tactics," Fu suggested from another end of the table. Behind her, four shadowy figures stood silently with their hands held behind their backs. "Trade some of our men to Hanzo-sama out on the frontlines."

"No, I told Hanzo I could handle this," Kandachi snapped. "What do you think he'll do when I start asking for his help to take out a few worms?"

"The major problem is Takigakure right now," Suien stated. "When Hanzo-sama was in charge, he managed to take out Kusagakure easily enough. But now their shinobi are scattered in this country and the next, joining with Takigakure and using guerrilla style tactics to cause as many problems for us as possible. When we take out Takigakure though, and find Kusagakure's leader, all of the remaining shinobi will be lost, wild animals. Stupid and easy to kill off one by one."

"Have you ever tried to find a rat in a maze," Fu questioned. The Jinchuriki then laughed and shook her head, "What am I saying? You _are_ a rat." Suien huffed bitterly, glaring daggers at Fu.

"Enough," Kandachi snapped at Fu. "Suien, you have been holding back the location of Takigakure for some time now…granted thanks to your information we've found many small farmer villages, and hidden outposts that Taki used. But that still leaves the location of the village a mystery. If we can strike at them now then that will take an immense pressure off of the Alliance!"

"You forget that Takigakure has a secret weapon at their disposal…the Hero Water."

"Oh not this crap again," Fu groaned as she rested her chin in her hand, over-exaggerating her tiresome attitude. Suien glared at the Jinchuriki again before turning to Kandachi.

"Hanzo agreed with me when I told him that the Hero Water was dangerous, and agreed that caution was necessary."

"Hanzo is always cautious about everything," Fu snapped as she slammed her hands on the table. "Kandachi, the war against _real_ enemies like the Lands of Water and Lightning have started, and we're out here having a pissing contest with Kusagakure and Kirigakure to see who can take out the most people fastest! We need to deal a critical blow to them and get this little war over with so we can get our asses out on the frontlines!"

"I'll make a compromise with you," Suien offered. Kandachi turned his head to listen to the rogue Taki shinobi. Fu threw her hands up in disbelief before resting her face in her hand again. "One more week, we scout out the lands and find any remaining outposts I may have missed. We watch them for that week and make sure that they don't move to another one and abandon it. Then at the end of the week, we strike them all simultaneously, at night when their guard is down most and when everyone will be back at their bases. Once we take out those outposts, Takigakure's forces will be diminished, and the number of shinobi who will use the Hero Water will be lessened, making our invasion all the easier."

Kandachi narrowed his eyes before staring down to consider it. Fu and Suien watched the man carefully and waited for his response. Kandachi looked at Suien and nodded, "Alright, fine. You're in charge of the scouting parties as usual though. If you don't find at least two outposts by the end of the day tomorrow, I'm going to make you tell us the location of Takigakure anyway. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Suien replied with a smile and bow of his head. The rogue turned around and then exited the tent.

"Fu," Kandachi quickly spoke. The Jinchuriki turned her head to Hanzo's right-hand-man. "While you and your team are out and about…if you find any shinobi from Taki, keep a few alive. Get as much information out of them as you can on the whereabouts of their village, and about this Hero Water stuff. Understand?"

"Don't trust Suien eh," Fu questioned with a sinister smile.

"Hanzo-sama didn't, I don't see why I should." Fu chuckled and nodded to Kandachi. The two Ame shinobi then exited the tent and prepare to rest through the night.

* * *

**HOLY BUTT-MONKEY! I kinda surprised myself with how war-like all these scenes were lol. And yeah, things picked up pretty fast too…I can't believe this is only the first chapter =P Hopefully it didn't seemed too terribly rushed or anything like that. But I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and the rest of the story to come!**

**Also, I would like to state that I'm currently hoping to move out of my current household and in with friends. Now, since not a lot of my, myself include, friends moving in have jobs and such (looking for one though) we're going to go without a few things for the first couple of months. This includes internet. And I don't have a laptop, so if the next update takes awhile, it's because I'm either too busy looking for a job, no interwebs at the house I'll be moving into for awhile, and/or no computer to type me stories. Just wanted to let you all know in advance, but I'll try to get chapter two (possibly three, but don't quote me on that) done before I, hopefully, move out.**

**Again, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to leave a review. **


	2. Helping Out

Hours after the first battle on the coasts of the Land of Fire, Sakura and many other medical ninja were still tending to the wounded shinobi that took part in the battle. She wondered in the back of her mind how many shinobi she had healed in the past hour, let alone the second half of the day.

'_I never imagined…so many people could be injured in a single day…'_ Sakura finished healing the wounds of a fellow kunoichi, who thanked her and limped away to continue her duties. Sakura looked over across the clearing and saw countless bodies being lined up, both from the enemy side and the Alliance's side.

"Curious as to what they're doing," a voice asked. Sakura gasped softly and whipped her head around quickly to see Choza Akimichi standing over her. The large man sat down next to Sakura and held out his arm, showing a serious wound he received to the shoulder. Sakura wasted no time and began using her medical ninjutsu to heal the wound and check to make sure he wasn't poisoned. "They're seeing which shinobi are worthy of being reincarnated with the Edo Tensei." Sakura gasped softly and looked at the head of the Akimichi Clan.

"But…they've already died in combat. They should be laid to rest right?"

"In the village meeting between the Konoha Council and the heads of all the Clans, Danzo claimed this would be the war to end all wars. He would spare no expense to ensure that the Alliance would come out victorious in this war." Choza sighed, ignoring the slight stinging sensation in his arm as it was being healed. "I was against the Edo Tensei's usage. I've fought alongside many friends and allies that should just as soon be left dead rather than be brought back to fight another war. And if we use enemy forces for our Edo Tensei…all I can imagine is how hard it would be for them to fight their former comrades, or children."

Sakura's eyes softened as she tried to fathom such a thought. She shook her head before giving Choza a wary look, "I can't even imagine how painful that would be…"

"A jutsu like this, no matter how valuable or how many lives it would save, shouldn't be used. There's no point in saving lives if we're just going to reuse them…" Choza rolled his shoulder as soon as Sakura finished healing it. He smiled with satisfaction before nodding his head to Sakura. "Thank you child. You did a fine job today."

"I don't feel like I did much honestly…"

"Don't sell yourself short. Each shinobi you keep alive today, is one fewer shinobi that'll have to be used in the Edo Tensei. If nothing else, you're something of a savior Miss Haruno." Sakura blushed a little at the comment and offered a nervous laugh.

"Thank you Choza-sama." The hefty man nodded with a kind smile on his face before rising up to his feet and walking towards the command center's tent.

* * *

Hanzo and Higure, as well as a few other high ranking shinobi stood around a central table in the main command tent, circled around a map of the shoreline they were on. "Crafty devils," Hanzo murmured. "The Union knew we'd be coming here, and they were waiting in advance to sneak attack us."

"It's nothing we couldn't handle, but Hiruko's Division took a lot of casualties…"

"And that stubborn fool in typical Suna fashion insists on getting the job done first at the risk of his own men," Hanzo replied, glancing over at his fellow commander. "You couldn't get him away from the shoreline?"

"I tried my best," Higure answered with a shrug. "He said finishing the preparations on the shoreline will help slow enemy advancements, and make sure we all sleep better at night." The commander shrugged again, "I dunno. Have you tried talking sense into a mule?" Hanzo rolled his eyes before looking back down at the map. Higure crossed his arms and took a step closer to Hanzo. "So…is it true that part of your Division is split up?"

"Where ever did you hear a rumor like that," Hanzo asked, his eyes not moving away from the map.

"I have my ways. Why are we warring with Kusa and Takigakure too?"

"We're doing what," one Jonin snapped.

"We're fighting another war," Hiashi questioned. Hanzo straightened his back and lifted a hand to calm the high ranking shinobi.

"Now, now, everyone calm down. Calling it a 'war' is a generous term. Think of it more as clean-up. Kusa and Taki, while weak and pitiful on their own, could provide dangerous and harmful intel to our enemies from behind our own lines. We decided that it was better to take care of this problem before it got out of hand."

"What proof did you have that Kusa and Taki were planning to ally with the Union," Higure questioned.

"Alliance intel has numerous spies and agents all around the world. Our decisions based on such information are not to be questioned." Higure lowered his head lightly and nodded. Despite holding the same rank as Hanzo, the Salamander's overall power both as a ninja and a leader far surpassed his. "Now, I'll come up with a proper plan of attack once Hiruko is done with his duties on the shoreline. Until then, the rest of you tend to your people. Dismissed."

The high ranking shinobi left the tent, but another ninja from Suna entered the tent, winded and panting lightly. "C-commanders Higure and Hanzo, w-we're receiving a message from command."

"Very well," Hanzo replied. Higure turned around as the lower ranking shinobi bowed his head and left. "I wonder what this is about…"

Hanzo placed his hand on a pedestal next to him and poured a little bit of chakra into it. A hologram of Danzo sat on the other side of the table with his arm placed on the arm of his chair.

"_Report."_

"There's not much to report to be truthful Danzo-san," Hanzo replied. "We had a brief engagement with the enemy on the shoreline. All we can confirm is that the Land of Sky is active, and they've joined the Union. They also use advanced technology, much like the Land of Snow uses."

"If I could interject, the reports showed that the Land of Snow had nothing like this," Higure replied. "Plus the current Daimyo of that land isn't producing any weapons. If the Land of Sky got their technology from the Land of Snow, it would have been during Doto's reign."

"_Calm down Commander Haruno. Even if the Land of Snow was supplying our enemies with weapons, we can't afford to divide our attention anymore than it already is."_

"Then why are you bothering to call us," Higure questioned.

"_To get a casualty report. I want to size up our enemy's strength."_

"Our casualties are…minimal, considering the surprise attack," Hanzo answered. "And our enemy's bodies are higher in number than our ally's bodies."

"_I want any important or powerful shinobi who have died identified and sent to Orochimaru's base immediately."_

"I doubt that our enemy would sent anything more than simple grunts to send us a message, but we will check regardless Danzo," the poison Salamander replied.

"_Good. I may also have each regiment send a group of shinobi to reinforce our efforts against Taki and Kusa."_

"Is it getting that bad," Hanzo questioned. "I left Kandachi in charge…I surely thought he'd be able to handle those worthless shinobi."

"_They've all resigned themselves to death it seems. Shinobi from Taki and Kusa are sacrificing their lives before a battle can even begin. The casualty numbers have turned around, before one of ours could take out four or five of their enemies, and now one suicide shinobi from Taki can take out five or six of ours. Kandachi doesn't know exactly how to handle this, nor can he adapt evidently. He's still focused on taking out the encampments instead of the village, or thinking of new ways to counter the suicide shinobi."_

"Kandachi has always been one to get things done quickly rather than efficiently…I'll try to put together a squad to help out Kandachi. We'll eliminate Kusa and Taki both quickly Danzo."

"_That's what I like to hear Hanzo. Get results done. Finish up on the shoreline and contact me when you send out the squad back inland."_

Danzo's hologram vanished. Hanzo turned to Higure and pointed at him, "Create a team to assist Kandachi, and I'll worry about the dead."

Higure tilted his head to the side, curious about Hanzo's words. "What do you mean...?"

"These shinobi need to be laid to rest, not reused to fight their comrades."

"You oppose the usage of the Edo Tensei too," Higure asked with a shocked tone.

"For terms of battle, no. It's possibly one of the most useful weapons in creation. Bodies that never grow old, never tire, and have limitless amounts of chakra, truly it's a powerful force to be reckoned with. For ethical purposes, I see the Edo Tensei as an abomination." Hanzo turned his head towards Higure and gave a slight shrug. "But in this war, I'm a commander first, and a politician second. I go with what Danzo says for now, but if I have control over who does or doesn't get used in the Edo Tensei, I'd just a soon bury the dead."

Higure and Hanzo remained silent for a few long seconds. The younger of the two stared at Hanzo in a new-found respect. Higure always believed that Hanzo of all people would side with Danzo, no matter the situation. Higure was glad to see that Hanzo still had some honor hiding somewhere.

"I'll go and start building a team to reinforce Kandachi." Higure bowed his head to the Regimental Commander before leaving the tent.

* * *

The sun was rising over the Land of Grass, where a squad of seven Akatsuki members traveled, heading into the Land of Waterfalls. The team had little success in finding any shinobi from Kusagakure or Takigakure to offer their aid in moving their civilians, despite Nagato's sensory abilities. The seven shinobi stood in a grassy, open field for awhile before Nagato turned to them.

"We're taking a little break for now, so rest up."

"What," Naruto exclaimed in outrage, "But we haven't even caught a trace of...well, anyone!"

"And if we encounter Alliance resistance first, we need to be at full strength. If Kusa or Taki decide that they don't want our help, we need to be ready to defend ourselves." Naruto huffed with annoyance at Nagato's logic. The others didn't seem to have a problem with the break however, as they all quickly sat on the ground, covered by the tall grass. Hidan, in usual fashion, started some ritual chant to his lord, Jashin.

Nagato also sat with his squad, feeling uneasy. He found it odd that he hadn't felt any chakra signatures nearby in the several miles they had covered. It was almost as if the country was completely dead and devoid of life. Also, something about the valley they were in didn't make Nagato any less tense. They were out in the open, despite being hidden in the grass.

_'I don't like this...not one bit...'_

The wind changed direction constantly, blowing one way before changing and blowing the opposite way. Nagato examined his surroundings carefully, watching and waiting for something amiss. He looked over to Izumi, who was talking with the boys, and encouraging Naruto to rest. Hidan was lost in prayer, leaving Nagato to be the only one waiting for a trap.

_'Maybe I've been hanging around Yahiko too long? I seem to just be hoping for a trap of some sort...'_ The wind changed directions again, this time to the south. Nagato watched the grass, his eyes widening a little bit in shock. _'The wind changes direction...but the grass...doesn't...?'_

Nagato suddenly felt a surge of chakra all around them, strong enough to where a novice could sense it too. The rest of the squad all turned their heads in all directions, unsure from where the charka was coming from. Hidan's eyes shot open as he stood up and swung his scythe at the grass that had suddenly shot towards the group. The priest sliced through all of the nearby grass, that had sharpened like razor blades moments before Hidan cut them down.

"It's a trap," Neji shouted as he activated his Byakugan.

"Great observation," Kiba snarled, going into his feral mode.

Nagato used his Rinnegan to scan the area, seeing several bodies of charka scattered throughout the valley. _'When the hell did they get here?!'_

"They're shinobi of Kusa," Izumi stated as she readied a kunai next to Haku.

"Nobody attack," Nagato ordered to his troops. "We're here to help! Please listen to us!" Nothing but the wind blowing through the air was heard. The squad grew a bit nervous, anxiety built up.

"We know you're hiding here," Neji shouted, holding his Gentle Fist stance. "We're here to help you. We're enemies of the Alliance as well."

"Hold," a voice called. The Akatsuki squad turned to look off to the right where a young woman with long black hair stood up. The rest of the Kusa shinobi stood up as well, revealing that they greatly outnumbered the seven Akatsuki rogues. "Who are you all," the young woman asked. "I've never seen you before...and I heard of no reinforcements."

"We're shinobi from Akatsuki," Nagato stated. "We found a young boy from Taki, who was hurt in an Alliance ambush. He requested us to help evacuate your people, and to give Lord Shibuki a message."

"And what is this message," the young woman asked.

"A man named Suien has sided with the Alliance. The boy we found believes that Suien knows the location of Takigakure." The young Kusa woman huffed and placed her hand over her face with disbelief.

"So...it's as Shibuki feared then..." The young woman motioned to the rest of her squad to gather before she approached Nagato. "I'm Shiore. I'm one of Kusagakure's platoon leaders."

"You," Izumi whispered to herself, "But...you're so young..."

"Well, in times where most of our veteran shinobi are dead, our remaining leaders became a little more than desperate," the young woman said. Her voice was light, and raspy. Very eerie to the Akatsuki shinobi. "So, you want to help with the evacuation?"

"We don't have the numbers right now to help in any other way, but we'll help however we can."

"Good," Shiore snapped. "We're the ones who'll deal with the Alliance in our lands, not you rogues. We'll escort you to Takigakure to speak with Shibuki. Whether or not he agrees to accept your help remains to be seen."

"That seems fair," Nagato replied. "Lead the way."

Shiore nodded and then turned to a fellow Kusa kunoichi, "Karin, shield our chakra signatures while we move."

"Understood," the young girl with glasses replied before making a single hand sign. Nagato and Neji looked around, noting a light barrier of chakra surrounding them. Nagato took a moment before looking at Shiore as she began to walk.

"Will this really hide our chakra signatures?"

"As long as nobody uses any type of jutsu, yes. Karin is a very special individual amongst our people."

The blonde Jinchuriki amongst the party approached Karin and smiled, "Hiya, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Karin gave a strange look towards the boy, "Um...h-hi." Karin was hesitant of the boy, one for being apart of Akatsuki, and two for being bold enough to approach her.

"How old are you Karin?"

"I...I'm thirteen."

"So am I! So are you a sensory type of shinobi then?" Karin looked increasingly nervous as the boy talked with her. Naruto noted the scared look on her face and smiled, a little embarrassed, "Sorry, it's just I'm guessing if you know how to hide chakra signatures, you know how to sense them to. Right?"

"Y-yeah, your right."

"Karin, focus," Shiore snapped. The redhead nodded and focused harder, hoping to block out the talkative boy.

"Naruto, don't bother Karin-san," Nagato ordered. The Jinchuriki chuckled nervously and put his hands behind his head.

"Sorry Nagato." Naruto walked slower so that Karin could get a few paces ahead of him. The blonde then stared up at the sky casually before he heard snickering behind him. Naruto turned his head and saw Kiba as the source of the snickering, while Neji had his eyes closed with a smirk on his face. "What're you laughin at puppy dog?"

"One woman isn't enough for ya, huh," Kiba teased, pointing at Karin. "You gotta hit on any girl you come across?"

Naruto's face became flushed before he glared daggers at Kiba, "I'M JUST BEING FRIENDLY!"

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?!" The three boys, as well as a few of the adults all turned in shock at Karin. "I CAN ONLY SHIELD CHAKRA SIGNATURES, NOT SOUND!"

Silence fell over the grasslands as Karin's voice echoed off of the treeline, and birds flew off into the sky. Karin fumed, her face as red as her hair from embarrassment at her outburst before she went back to focusing on her shielding technique. The rest of the Kusa and Akatsuki shinobi continued onward, nobody daring to make a sound.

On the other side of the valley, four figures all sat in the trees and watched the small band of shinobi walk on. "Well, well, looks like we found some of our worms cowering in the dirt," a female voice spoke.

"You three shall follow them, I'll report back to command..."

"What right do you have to order us around," another man with a gruff voice snapped.

"Would you like to leave it to a test of skill," the man with a smooth, calm voice questioned. The gruff sounding man fell silent. "Good...wouldn't want to upset the order of things now would we?" The man stood up and vanished, leaving three other shinobi on their own.

"That greedy little...who does Aoi think he is," a masked man questioned.

"He's ambitious, there's no doubt of that," the woman replied. "He wants to be Hanzo-sama's right hand, not Kandachi, or Fu. I wouldn't be surprised if we were simply targets for him to distract the enemy..."

"Well, we'll show him when we wipe out that whole group at once," the gruff man murmured.

"We wait for the opportune moment Murasame," the woman replied. "We can't be too hasty now can we?" The three shinobi all then disappeared in a blur to pursue their enemy.

* * *

On a small island, miles away from the shores of the Land of Fire, Union soldiers were busy in the night setting up traps, building trenches, and setting up encampments along several smaller islands around the immediate area. Standing atop a hill, overlooking the busy working shinobi was Kisame Hoshigaki with the leader of the Land of Sky, Shinno.

"I must admit, your people work very efficiently," Kisame said to the country leader.

"And your people are very skilled at killing people. I'm a little disheartened that our tactic didn't work too well."

"It's only the first day of war, Shinno-sama," Kisame stated with a toothy, devilish grin on his face. "We'll have plenty of time to worry about the enemy. Besides, we've confirmed one thing at least..." Shinno grinned and nodded before chuckling darkly.

"With three of the Alliance's regiments here, only two are left to fight the front for the Land of Lightning..."

"Just as Lord Yagura predicted...you've sent the reinforcements to aid our other regiments?"

"Of course. The two Alliance regiments won't know what hit them..."

"I'll report to the Mizukage then." Kisame bowed his head slightly to Shinno, then walked towards his personal tent. Inside, Kisame faced a masked, cloaked man. "Well, it's just as you thought...three to defend the sea, two to invade on land."

"Danzo is overconfident in his own people. He doesn't realize the true power of the Land of Lightning. On the other hand, he's smart to hold the Land of Water here. If he can prevent our troops from getting to the mainland, then he can eventually overpower the Land of Lightning. I don't believe he expected the air superiority of the Land of Sky though."

"It's almost like you can predict what the Alliance is planning Mizukage." Kisame chuckled and crossed his arms. "It's almost as if you're inside Danzo's head."

"Nothing of the sort," Tobi replied as he sat up off of the table he was leaning against. "Continue on as normal Kisame." The swordsmen nodded as his superior was sucked away into a vortex from his eye.

Kisame turned his head suddenly towards the side of his tent. He rushed outside and looked around but found only empty space. The swordsmen narrowed his eyes skeptically, feeling as though someone had been watching. Kisame growled softly to himself before marching off as he quickly shut down his suspicions. His objective was to focus on the war. Tobi could handle the rest of the situation.

Kisame went back to the hill and looked around, pondering where his fellow commander went. The shark swordsmen frowned and dismissed any paranoid thoughts before walking off again.

In his personal tent, Shinno stood with his back to the entrance, staring at a map of the eastern half of the mainland, namely including the Land of Lightning and Water. A figure stepped out of the shadows and bowed their head to the Land of Sky commander.

"Yes Amaru?"

"It's as you expected," the person responded. "Kisame reported to someone else, and referred to him as the Mizukage." Shinno smiled and traced a path along his current location towards the Land of Lightning. The servant waited quietly as their master plotted to himself.

"Was the man in a mask," Shinno finally asked.

"Yes sir, and when they were done, he disappeared out of thin air." The leader of the Land of Sky sneered wickedly and nodded softly to himself.

"Thank you Amaru. Remember to try to stay hidden and continue to gather information that could help the Land of Sky come out on top after this war is over."

"As you command Lord Shinno." The young ninja then vanished in a blur from Shinno's tent.

Shinno chuckled to himself as he rolled up the map and stared at the blueprints of an advanced mechanical device. Behind those blueprints, Shinno pulled out the schematics of his flying fortress, along with some other objects, and an odd looking creature.

"You think you're the only one with vast knowledge and back up plans Madara...? You're terribly mistaken I'm afraid..."

* * *

Kandachi grew exasperated as he stared at a map of the local area. The was almost half over and there wasn't a single report of Kusa or Taki resistance. Kandachi, being around the ever paranoid Hanzo, wondered if the enemy was actually planning something big. Even worse still, if Suien turned out to be working for Takigakure still, or even Akatsuki.

The lieutenant shook his head, trying to get the paranoid thoughts out of his mind. There's no way Suien would be allowed to give away the lives of so many Takigakure shinobi if he was still loyal to them. But did that leave out the possibility of Akatsuki?

"Kandachi-san, sir." The voice snapped the man in charge out of his trance before he looked up, seeing a smiling man with green hair waltz into the room. "We've ran across a group of Kusa shinobi, along with an Akatsuki squad." Kandachi's eyes lit up a little with surprise. "The rest of Fu-sama's team is following them. I came back to report to you."

"You're joking...how did Akatsuki get past Alliance borders?!"

Aoi shrugged, maintaining his smile, "Maybe they had inside help?" Kandachi groaned as he placed his hand on his forehead. Were his paranoid thoughts right? "Perhaps we can't trust our little Taki friend...he's holding back information, all for fear out of a rumored, magical water?"

"He's the only one who knows where Takigakure is, as he's the only rogue known from that village," Kandachi stated firmly. The lieutenant placed his hand on the table and glared up at Aoi. "We need him. There are no other alternatives."

"There is...one alternative Kandachi-san." The lieutenant stared at Aoi for a moment while the green haired man smiled softly. After a few moments, Aoi crossed his arms and stepped forward. "Kakuzu the Immortal."

Kandachi's eyes widened with shock as he reeled back, and then angrily swiped his arm to the side, "Absolutely not! Kakuzu has been known to be working with our enemies, the Land of Water, just before this war started! For all we know he could act as a spy!"

"Oh come now, Kakuzu is a mercenary, plain and simple. His loyalty is decided by who can fill his bottomless pockets the best. Besides, he's an S-class shinobi, and you know he'll have no qualms about killing his own people."

"Command has said we can't trust Kakuzu, which is why he was ruled out," Kandachi stated angrily. "We're not bringing in Kakuzu, and that's final!"

"That's most unfortunate Kandachi...I'm not sure what I'm supposed to tell Lord Danzo when I send him a letter telling him you denied his direct order." Aoi pulled out a piece of paper and waved it around. Kandachi's eyes immediately became glued to the paper before he held out his hand.

"Give me that..." Aoi nodded and tossed the paper on the table towards the lieutenant. The scarred man unfolded the paper and began to read it, his eyes quickly traveling over the paper. _'The handwriting matches...and this is definitely how Danzo writes his orders...but, why has he suddenly changed his mind...?'_

"Well," Aoi asked, snapping Kandachi out of his thoughts.

"Fine then." The Ame lieutenant looked up at Aoi with a furious gaze. "But I'm blaming you if this comes back to bite us!"

"As you command Kandachi-san," Aoi replied as he bowed curtly to his superior officer. "What do we do about the Akatsuki and Kusa shinobi?"

"Get Fu and assemble a team to follow them to track the remainder of your team. Try to see if you can find more encampments of Taki or Kusa resistance, and find out any information on Akatsuki. Information is your primary objective, and destruction your secondary. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Aoi bowed his head and then left the tent. He chuckled to himself once he was a fair bit away before pulling out a second copy of the exact note he handed to Kandachi out of his pouch. "The Sharingan truly is an amazing Dojutsu...soon the Hero Water is going to be mine..."

Not too far away, Suien stepped out from behind a tree, his eyes narrowed. _'Someone else is after the Hero Water eh...?'_ Suien turned his head and scowled. "Time to accelerate my little plan..."

* * *

Nagato walked with Izumi to his right and Hidan to his left, his rippled eyes scanning the surrounding forest carefully. "You sense it too then Nagato-sama," Izumi whispered.

"I see them rather you could say," Nagato answered. "You're not using jutsu are you?"

"No, just habits Lady Chiyo taught me. The sounds they make when they're moving, faint breathing. They're trying hard to stay hidden."

"Not the most skilled shinobi then are they," Hidan stated boastfully. Shiore turned her head to the three senior rogues.

"What's that now," the young Genin asked.

"We're being followed," Hidan replied, very loudly.

The three shinobi tailing the Akatsuki and Kusa shinobi froze in their tracks. The younger Akatsuki shinobi, minus Neji and Ranmaru were surprised, as were all of the Kusa shinobi.

"Where," Shiore demanded.

"Water style: giant water prison jutsu," three voices rang out in unison.

Shiore wasted no time and dashed away into hiding, along with two other Kusa shinobi. "Move," Nagato shouted as he used the Shinra Tensei to push Naruto and his friends back, with a bit of excess force.

The rest of the shinobi were imprisoned in a large dome of water, unable to move or use any type of jutsu. Nagato growled with frustration as his found his entire body paralyzed.

"Well that was close," a masked shinobi, Kirisame, sighed out with relief.

"I can't believe they knew where we were," the gruff man, Murasame growled. "But they're screwed now aren't they?"

"Most of them are," the only woman of the group, Hisame, added. "We still have to deal with the small-fry."

Naruto, Neji, Kiba, Haku, and Ranmaru stared down their three opponents, all of whom stared at them with sneers on their faces.

"Attack them," Shiore shouted as she and the other two Kusa shinobi attacked the three Ame shinobi. The three Ame shinobi turned around, simultaneously using a water-whip to snare two of the three Kusa ninjas.

Shiore scattered into thousands of blades of grass, much to Kirisame's shock. The young Kusa commander shot down from behind the three Ame shinobi. Hisame spun around and shot a second water-whip out from her free hand, towards Shiore. The young kunoichi quickly snapped her head back, arching backwards before flipping around and falling towards the ground.

"Well, she's a feisty one," Hisame stated with a grin.

"Distract them Kirisame," Murasame ordered as his water-whip reached up and used the pressure to snap the Kusa shinobi's neck.

"NO," Shiore shouted. Hisame and Kirisame both snickered as the latter performed a long series of hand signs.

"Multi-water clone jutsu!" Several masked shinobi appeared out of the puddles of water surrounding the young shinobi.

"You think that scares me," Naruto shouted as he crossed his fingers together, "Shadow clone jutsu!" Several clouds of smoke erupted, revealing five Naruto clones, plus the original.

"A kid that young knows the shadow clone jutsu," Murasame whispered in disbelief.

"It matters not," Hisame angrily growled as she also broke her captive's neck. "We'll finish them off quickly before Aoi shows back up with reinforcements!"

"Right," Kirisame exclaimed with glee and a sadistic look in his eyes as he made a hand sign. "Water cyclone jutsu!"

The water clones all reached their arms out and combined together, creating a circle perimeter around the young shinobi. The clones then started to spin faster and faster at incredible speeds. Kiba roared as he lunged forward and attempted to attack the water clones, but was quickly knocked back by the sheer force of their spinning. Kiba slammed onto his back and rolled over the ground before Neji sprung upward into the air. The clones all shot up, using the water to jet themselves after the young Hyuga.

"Eight trigrams," Neji cried out as he began to lose upward momentum and the clones caught up with him. The other Akatsuki shinobi plus Shiore looked up as they became encased in a tower of water.

"You can't escape,"Kirisame shouted, "My water cyclone jutsu traps all opponents and crushes you them while spinning with extreme momentum! You'll all be crushed and torn to shreds!"

"Palms rotation!" Neji spun in the opposite direction he usually spins, going against the water cyclone. The two chakras ground and clashed against each other before a huge explosion errupted from the top of the water tower, destroying Kirisame's water cyclone jutsu.

"What," the masked shinobi shouted with disbelief.

Neji glared at the enemies, then noted the bulky one was gone. The young shinobi quickly activated his Byakugan and saw something moving in behind him. Neji jerked his head to the side as a narrow stream of water grazed a few of his hairs.

"Water style: water spear," Murasame shouted as he shot out a second spear of water from his mouth towards Neji.

The young Hyuga spun around and again narrowly avoided the attack. The bulky man growled and fired the jutsu again. This time though, the spear was torn through halfway on its course by Kiba's attack. The young Inuzuka landed on a large tree branch and launched himself towards Murasame.

"Water style: water hammer jutsu!" Murasame fired another blast of water from his mouth, the top holding extra water pressure to increase the damage. Kiba then began to spin quickly around and around.

"Tunneling fang," the young shinobi shouted as he pierced through the water torrent.

Murasame continued to keep up the torrent before Kiba got too close and then stopped. Before impact, Murasame stepped back, jumped up and spun around, unleashing another water hammer from his mouth before slamming another water hammer into Kiba's back. The force of the attack smashed Kiba through the thick tree branch and sent him plummeting towards the ground.

A flat mirror of ice appeared beneath Kiba, giving the boy a footing before he sprung away from his opponent.

"What," Murasame breathed in shock. The brief image of a black haired boy appeared in the mirror before he shot out of the ice and towards the bulkier shinobi. Murasame began to make a hand sign but realized he would have no time to perform a jutsu as Haku rocketed towards him.

Haku's eyes were deadset on Murasame, but everything started to become very white. Haku covered his face and gasped softly as he realized he was surrounded with snow. He landed in the area where Murasame was standing, only to see his target had vanished. A woman's laughter was all Haku heard before he was struck from behind, causing him to stumble forward.

_'A snow related jutsu...?'_

On the ground, Naruto, Kiba, and Neji scowled at the white blot up above that encased their friend. "Watch out," Ranmaru shouted. The three boys snapped their heads back towards the ground as they saw Kirisame rushing towards them.

Shiore moved between the three Akatsuki shinobi and Kirisame and made a unique hand sign before placing her hands on the ground, "Rising pain!" As Kirisame lunged forward, he was impaled by several razor sharp grass blades that were each several feet long that held him in place. The young kunoichi sighed with relief before Kirisame erupted in a cloud of smoke, revealing a log in his place, covered with paper bombs. "Damn it!" Shiore sprung backwards just as a massive explosion went off, throwing her backwards.

"Shiore," Neji shouted. "Damn it!"

Murasame and Kirisame both laughed as they stood over the younger shinobi, "This is a pitiful bunch, eh Murasame?"

"They are," the bulky man agreed. "Which ones do you want?"

"I'm going to take down that Hyuga clansmen...nobody breaks free from my water cyclone jutsu!"

"Kiba, go help Haku," Neji ordered as he readied himself for Kirisame's attack.

"Neither of you are getting away," the masked shinobi shrieked as he lunged forward.

"I guess that leaves me with the rest of those brats..." Murasame performed a series of hand signs, "Water style, water shark bomb jutsu!" The bulky man unleashed a blast of water from his mouth, which soon took the shape of a shark and shot towards the Akatsuki shinobi.

The young shinobi all scattered, Kiba and Neji both being confronted by a gleeful Kirisame. Naruto shielded Ranmaru while Shiore weakly avoided the attack. Murasame charged through the sprinkling water from his attack.

"Ranmaru, Haku is gonna need your eyes in that snow storm up there," Naruto stated. The purple haired boy nodded and quickly ran off. The blonde turned to the Kusa commander, "Are you able to fight?"

"I can handle myself," Shiore shouted.

"Not what I asked, but okay," Naruto murmured.

Murasame performed a series of hand signs, "Water style: water spear barrage!" The Ame shinobi fired a number of water spears from his mouth, towards Naruto and Shiore.

"Grass wall," Shiore shouted as she slammed her palms onto the ground. The grass in front of her grew incredibly fast and sturdy. The spears hit the wall of grass, causing the makeshift defense crumble and bend a little.

Naruto took the attack head on, but soon dispersed into a cloud of smoke. Murasame growled, realizing that Naruto was only a shadow clone before turning to the side, seeing two more copies of the boy coming at him.

"Water-whip jutsu," Murasame shouted as he lashed out two whips at the clones. Both of the Naruto copies erupted into smoke, much to Murasame's anger.

"Grass shuriken jutsu," Shiore shouted as she turned her former grass-wall into a series of projectiles, all as sharp as a sword.

Murasame swung his first whip outward, knocking the first wave of grass projectiles out of the way, and did the same with the second whip. Shiore scowled and performed more hand signs.

"No you don't," Murasame shouted as he lashed his first water-whip outward. Shiore scowled as she stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding the whip as she fell and rolled back. Murasame charged and reshaped his water-whips. "Water flails jutsu!"

At the tops of the whips, more water was added, and spikes came out from them, giving the former whips the image of flails. Murasame swung each of the flails about while Shiore dodged them at a distance. The young kunoichi then flipped out a kunai from her pouch and charged forward, ducking under Murasame's attack. The Ame shinobi was then put on the defensive as he stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding Shiore's swings with her kunai. The kunoichi spun around and pulled out another kunai and increased the speed of her attacks, putting the senior shinobi on the ropes.

Murasame pulled his head back to avoid Shiore's kunai before smashing his forehead into Shiore's. The kunoichi cried out in pain, her eyes forced shut as she was thrown to the ground. Murasame grinned and started to perform the hand signs for the water spear jutsu.

"Rasengan!" Murasame snapped his head up just as a boy wearing black and red slammed a swirling blue chakra ball into his stomach. Murasame cried out as a great pressure crushed his insides and sent him flying backwards, spinning around and around at intense speeds before crashing into a nearby tree. Naruto turned to Shiore, who lied on the ground, her forehead protector lying next to her head and blood oozing out of a newly formed wound. "Damn it...are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine..."

Murasame forceful pried himself out of the tree, splinters flying out as he got out, blood trickling down his body, arms, and legs as his shirt, now torn and shredded fell to the ground. "Th-that little...fucking brat!"

Neji used his rotation as a series of kunai flew at him, bouncing off of his chakra barrier. Kiba rushed one of Kirisame's water clones and began to tear through it before moving onto a second one. The real Kirisame, along with a few of his clones, began to form the same hand signs, preparing the same jutsu. Neji caught sight of the three masked ninjas preparing the same attack and quickly turned towards his partner.

"Kiba, watch out, two o' clock!" The young Inuzuka turned his head just as the three ninja finished their hand signs.

"Water style: tri-dragon missile!"

Three giant torrents of water came from their feet and fused into one huge wave of water which took the shape of a three headed dragon. Neji and Kiba both stared in awe, while Kirisame's eyes glinted with maliciousness. The water dragon flew downwards towards the two shinobi.

_'That jutsu is too big to dodge, and too power to stop head-on,'_ Neji realized, trying to quickly think of an alternative. Before he could, Kiba charged forward, much to Neji's shock. "No Kiba, wait!"

"Wolf drilling fang!" Kiba's chakra exploded from around him as he spun around at even faster speeds than his normal drilling fang. Neji watched in awe as his friend's force alone tore through the three headed water dragon, and also threw a few scratches and marks in the ground and nearby trees.

Kiba's spinning stopped before he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, panting heavily as sweat poured from his face. Kirisame growled as he clenched his fist in anger. The masked shinobi was also growing a bit weary, having used almost all of his chakra.

"Damn mutt..."

Kirisame turned to where Neji was, but the young Hyuga boy was instantly in front of him, already having taken a low crouched position. "Eight trigrams...two palms!" Neji struck his opponent twice with his fingertips. "Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty two palms," Neji shouted as he continued to strike his opponent with more and more lightning fast blows. "Eight trigrams, sixty four palms!" Neji connected the final blow to Kirisame's heart, instantly killing the masked shinobi after closing off all his chakra paths. The masked Ame shinobi's eyes rolled up into the back of his head before he simply crumbled onto the ground in front of Neji.

The victorious Hyuga turned and rushed towards Kiba, kneeling next to him and rolling him onto his back, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kiba groaned with a stubborn growl. "That jutsu just...takes a little too much outta me." Neji rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Moron..."

Haku stepped around and was struck on his side, letting out a pained cry. The boy scowled as he tried to see past the sheet of white all around him. _'This jutsu is almost as bad as Zabuza-sama's mist...'_

"_What's wrong little boy,"_ Hisame's voice echoed. _"Can't keep up with me?"_

Haku scowled and tried to find where the voice was coming from. The boy didn't want to waste any chakra on a jutsu if he couldn't hit his target. Zabuza taught him better than that.

"_It seems my partners are having some trouble. I guess I'll have to wrap this up quickly then, won't I?"_

Haku inwardly smirked at the knowledge of his comrades beating the enemy. The ice boy readied himself for the oncoming attack, and tried to use his senses, though they were all but blocked out.

"_Six o' clock Haku!"_ The ice boy's eyes widened with shock before he instinctively spun around and blocked an attack.

"Ranmaru," Haku murmured.

"_What the?! Who was that?!"_

Out of the sheet of white, a young boy with purple hair came into the clearing and stood next to Haku, "I came to help. Hope you don't mind."

Haku smiled gently, a soft look in his eyes, "Not at all. I'm glad to have you to be honest."

"_Having that brat won't increase your chances of survival! Only delay your ultimate death!"_

Ranmaru climbed onto Haku's back and activated his Kekkei Genkai. The boy's eyes scanned the area and tonelessly whispered, "Left." Haku snapped to the left and blocked another attack. "Above." Again, Haku followed the boy's instructions. Haku threw a kick towards his right, knowing that Hisame would land to his right judging from the strength of the last two attacks.

A rewarding cry and resistance against the kick was heard and felt before Haku lunged in that direction. All the snow quickly vanished, gathering into one area, in front of Hisame's hand.

"Water style: snow cannon!"

Haku quickly closed the distance and placed his hand on the snow and performed a series of hand signs that even Hisame could scarcely follow. "Ice style: one thousand needles of death!" The snow then reconstituted itself into water within the blink of an eye, and then started to create ice needles that shot towards and impaled Hisame into the base of the tree.

The Ame kunoichi hung limply from the tree, blood dripping from her wounds and sliding down the tree. Haku sighed with relief, his own wound causing him a bit of trouble. Regardless, Haku turned his head and smiled at Ranmaru, "Thank you for your help."

"It's no problem Haku." The ice user jumped down to a lower branch, and headed down to the ground.

Naruto turned his head as he heard a loud, angry cry. Murasame's chakra swirled around him as he prepared another jutsu. "I'll kill you both with this jutsu!"

Naruto created a shadow clone that stood next to him. The clone swung his arm outward, releasing several chakra chains that stuck into various nearby trees. Naruto compressed his hands together, bringing forth as much air chakra as he could.

"Water style: giant tsunami jutsu!" Murasame threw his arm to the side and released a giant vortex of water towards Naruto and Shiore.

Naruto threw his hands outward, releasing a powerful blast of wind from his palms which sent the clone flying. The clone pulled on his chains and then quickly dispersed them, launching himself like a slingshot towards Murasame. The clone prepared another Rasengan, but used his other hand to add a little bit of wind chakra to it. The Naruto clone threw his arm forward at the water vortex. The Rasengan hit, creating a small explosion that quickly tore through the vortex and sent him flying towards Murasame.

"I-Impossible," Murasame shouted in fear.

Naruto's clone cried out as he slammed the wind style Rasengan into Murasame's stomach. The Ame shinobi once again folded under the force of the jutsu and the impact with which it was delivered. He cried out in pain just before he was sent flying back through several thick trees with the force of the Rasengan and the rate at which the clone was flying through the air.

The man eventually was imbedded into a stone wall several dozen yards away, his eyes blank and lifeless as blood trailed down from his body and onto the ground.

Naruto's clone smirked before it dispersed. The real Naruto smiled in victory before turning towards Shiore. "You okay?" The young Kusa commander was surprised to say the least, and her face clearly showed it.

The giant water prison was released, along with Nagato, Hidan, Izumi, Karin, and the majority of the other Kusa shinobi. Akatsuki's redheaded leader smiled as he placed a hand on his hip, "Good work kids."

"I can't believe they just beat Fu's squad," one Kusa shinobi murmured. "Those three gave our people so much damn trouble..."

"Akatsuki really has some powerful ninjas in its ranks," a kunoichi murmured.

Shiore stood up and dusted herself off, still trying to register that three of the most powerful enemy shinobi were beaten by a group of kids younger than her. "We need to keep moving," Shiore replied. "Quickly at this point, no need to worry about subtlety until we put some distance between us and these corpses..."

"Understood," Nagato replied with a nod. "Lead the way Shiore-san." The young Kusa commander nodded and took point with the younger Akatsuki shinobi following behind her.

While it was a victory that three of Fu's four man squad was beaten, Shiore knew what that meant for her people's war: Fu and the others would become much more serious. Despite the grave future on the horizon for Kusa and its people, Shiore felt a swell of relief that they ran into Akatsuki when they did.

_'Maybe they are worth joining...eh father?'_

* * *

On the former battlefield, Aoi and his squad had just arrived on the scene, moments too late. "Oh dear..." The green haired man looked up to the treetops, seeing Hisame's corpse, and then to the ground to Kirisame's corpse, and then the far distance, through several knocked down trees and a lane of destruction, seeing Murasame's body embedded into a wall. "Well, this doesn't bode well for us..."

"No," a young voice replied. Aoi and the other Ame shinobi looked up, seeing Fu staring off into the distance with a grin on her face. "This just makes things more exciting..." The Jinchuriki looked down at her subordinates and nudged her head forward. "\Three of you bring the bodies back to command for an autopsy. The rest of you will continue on with me." Fu, Aoi, and all but three shinobi moved forward, after the Kusa and Akatsuki shinobi.

* * *

***peaks out from behind the couch* hehehe...uh...le hello all...um...well I finally updated...and uh...would you believe life's been crazy lately? I moved out of my parent's house into a new one, now I have six roommates, drama within my new house (which has been fixed), just started school recently, have been working fast food (Arby's to be exact) for the last four or five months, and well...recently I've been balancing classes, schoolwork, work work, family, social living, and relationship living all at once so...fuck it, I'm not making excuses. You all deserve an apology for having to wait so long for this chapter. I'm really sorry everyone that it took so damn long. I hope you enjoy it, and trust me, I'm gonna try to make a little extra time to write more. Just a few disclaimers about my story so far to let everyone know.**

**Naruto didn't use the Rasen-shuriken. He used that downgraded wind style Rasengan on Masusame. Um...that's about it for this chapter actually.**

**-SPOILERS! DO NOT READ PAST HERE UNLESS YOU'RE PAST CHAPTER 600!-**

**No, Tobi is not going to be Obito in my story. I personally think that's the dumbest plot twist EVER in the Naruto storyline. Obito is going to be Obito, and no, he hasn't unlocked the Mangekyo. Tobi is going to be his own unique character. Granted I probably won't have any cool reasoning for his dimensional abilities and crap, but oh well. Just so nobody asks in the review for this story and spoils it for any other readers of this story who maybe don't read the manga.**

**-SPOILER OVER-**

**So, that's all. Again, I'm really sorry for taking forever to update. And hopefully I'll be more consistent with updates, and you'll get them sooner than every two or three months. I'm really sorry to all of you. And thank you for sticking with my story, if you stick with it at all even during my few month of hiatus. Love all of my fans, and I'll see you next chapter.**


	3. Finding Peace

Shiore led the Akatsuki squad to an outpost, hidden beneath the bottom of a lake. While it wasn't anything uncommon by Akatsuki's standards of hideouts, the fact that it was natural is what took the rogues off guard.

"These have become home for many refugees and wounded alike," Shiore explained as they walked past the sick and homeless. The younger members of Akatsuki looked on with sympathy and pained eyes. "We've been trying to get the civilians out of the country, but we have nowhere to take them. Our countries are surrounded by Alliance grounds, and even with this war on two fronts, the Alliance patrols make it nearly impossible for us to sneak people across the borders."

"We know the borders well enough we can get them across," Nagato replied. "Though it may have to be a little bit at a time."

"We're running out of time," Shiore snapped angrily. "If you're going to get our people out, we have to do it all at once. There's no more time to waste!" Nagato remained silent, knowing that there was no point in arguing with the woman.

"Shiore, welcome back." All heads turned forward to see a young man with long, dark hair, black eyes, wearing light armor colored green, and grey pants. "Who are these shinobi?"

"They're Akatsuki shinobi, and they've offered to help us evacuate our civilians," Shiore explained. "Nagato-san, everyone, this is Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure."

"It's an honor to meet you Shibuki-san," Nagato greeted, shaking the man's hand. "I'm sorry that war had to come to your country..."

"As am I, but it was inevitable," Shibuki replied. "I'm very grateful for your assistance."

"You're awfully trusting towards a group of rogue shinobi," Izumi pointed out. "I'm a little surprised to be honest."

"The people here, solider and civilian are desperate for any type of help we can get. I am as well to be honest. I can't afford to be picky. Besides, I've heard of Akatsuki. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

"I suppose that's right," Izumi replied.

"How many civilians can you take at a time," Shibuki asked, turning his head to Nagato.

"I can only take so many across the borders without drawing attention Shibuki-san, I'm sorry..."

"No need to be my friend, just take all the people you can at a time. Any help is appreciated, as I said. Just let me gather all the civilians and wounded from the other outposts before you start moving."

"We don't have time," Shiore stated. "Each minute we spend, the Alliance gets closer and closer to wiping us both out! We've got to get our people out now Shibuki!"

"Those refugees at the other outposts deserve the same chance the others do Shiore," Shibuki stated angrily. "Besides, Takigakure is the best place to move our people from."

"Are you crazy," Shiore screamed. "Your village has been compromised since Suien has been seen with the enemy! And that has been confirmed now by the Akatsuki rebels!" Shibuki stared at Shiore for a long moment and finally sighed.

"Suien sensei..."

"Sensei," Izumi repeated with a whisper. "Your sensei is working with the Alliance?"

"If Suien is the one in the Alliance, then yes."

"Why would he join the Alliance," Nagato asked. "Would he have any real reason to?"

"The Hero Water," Shibuki stated. "It's a legendary water that when drank, it increases a person's chakra levels immensely."

"You had a weapon like that and you haven't been using it against the Alliance," Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "What's wrong with you all?"

"How dare you speak to Lord Shibuki like that," one Taki shinobi shouted.

"Stand down," Shibuki ordered. Shibuki turned and looked at Naruto, "The Hero's Water...when it's drank, it increases your chakra levels to surpass that of even the Kage, but after drinking the Water...you die shortly afterwards." Silence lingered in the air for a long moment as everyone contemplated Shibuki's words. The leader of Taki shook his head and motioned for the others to follow him as he began walking. "We have several underground channels throughout the country to help us hide and plan counterattacks. Recently though, we've been using them specifically for hiding out civilians or wounded, and to help them get across the border."

"How many civilians and wounded are we talking about evacuating," Nagato asked. "Even this many people in this outpost would be a stretch to move them all at once."

"There are thousands of wounded, and even more civilians," Shibuki murmured, but loud enough for Nagato and the others to hear the drop in his tone. "I'd be surprised if we even had a thousand shinobi left in our country."

"You're joking," Kiba exclaimed with disbelief. "You were a hidden village right? That means you should've had enough shinobi to counterattack right?"

"The Alliance, even with a small portion of their power could have wiped us and Kusagakure off of the map. They sent more than enough to 'clean us up' quickly." The younger shinobi in Akatsuki scowled, Izumi included, while Nagato and Hidan remained stone faced. They knew well enough what the Alliance was capable of. "That's why we've all resigned ourselves to our fate, and now we're just giving the Alliance as much trouble as we can. But we have a plan for them soon. I just need permission from the leaders of Kusagakure to start our plan."

"I wasn't informed of this plan," Shiore snapped quickly. "Don't you think as your advisor I should be up to date on any plans you send to command?"

"You were out and about making new friends Shiore." Shibuki grinned while the Kusa kunoichi simply scowled at him. "The plan is to take our remaining forces to Takigakure, and use the Hero Water on all of our shinobi, and then take out what forces from the Alliance we can." Everyone's eyes lit up with alarm at Shibuki's daring plan.

Shiore swung her arm out to the side and put her foot down, "I refuse to accept this plan! There's no way we're going to kill all of our own people like this!"

"We've all resigned ourselves to death, Shiore. It was your higher ups that said we should start wearing paper bombs under all our uniforms to take the enemy with us when we die." Shiore scowled furiously as her fists began to shake. She was against that plan too when the Kusa leaders assigned it. "If we can take out even a hundred Alliance shinobi, that's a hundred less that the Union, or that Akatsuki will have to deal with. And with the Hero Water, each shinobi should be able to take out at least a hundred Alliance ninja on their own."

"That's if this stupid water works," Shiore shouted. "All I've been told about the damn thing is that it's special according to your legends! What proof is there that it works!?"

Shibuki stopped along with his escorts, the Akatsuki shinobi, Shiore, Karin, and the other Kusa shinobi. All eyes waited on him before he slowly turned around and looked directly at Shiore.

"I use to be a coward, believe it or not. Growing up, I was afraid of the littlest things, and I was always afraid when I would have to take over in my father's place. That day came very soon, when Alliance troops showed up to try to take over our country for their own strategy in the war. They sent a small platoon to our country, and slaughtered anyone who didn't immediately bend to their will. My father met this platoon of shinobi and faced them down alone. He didn't want anyone to interfere, and he said he'd handle it himself. He drank from the Hero Water, and wiped out a large number of shinobi. The only one he couldn't kill immediately was their platoon leader: Orochimaru."

Everyone nearby listened to the story, whether they knew it already or not, they listened intently to Shibuki's story.

"My father battled with Orochimaru for hours, each one of them never giving any ground, until the affects of the Hero Water caught up with my father, and he started to weaken dramatically, giving Orochimaru the edge in battle. My father lost the battle, but Orochimaru withdrew his forces from our country, and the Alliance never tried to invade again." Shibuki glared at Shiore, his resolve showed through his gaze, "I realized what I had to do after that to lead my people. And don't you dare question if the Hero Water works or not Shiore. It works alright."

Shibuki continued onward, not caring if the others followed him or not by this point. Nagato and Hidan followed first, the latter unfazed by the story. The rest of Akatsuki followed their leader afterwards. Shiore stood in place for a few moments in silence.

Karin leaned her head out and gently tapped Shiore's arm, "Lady Shiore...?" The Kusa kunoichi shook her head clear and smiled down softly at Karin.

"Go on, I'll catch up." Karin nodded slowly and then continued onward. Shiore looked up, her eyes full of doubt and questioning. She and Shibuki were very much alike, in the sense that they were both young, with too much responsibility, and that their fathers were leaders of their respective abilities. Shiore closed her eyes and thought about the responsibility Shibuki took upon himself, _'Would I have the same guts as him...?'_

* * *

In the heart of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru sat on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the resting military settlement, a bit astounded by the progress the civilians made. Orochimaru's assistant, Kin, approached the Sannin and bowed her head once she was in his presence.

"Do you have something to report Kin, my dear?"

"I wouldn't bother you if I didn't would I?" Orochimaru smiled and chuckled lightly. Kin's nonchalance around her master was a little refreshing from time to time. The black haired assistant unfolded a note and held it out to her master. "Apparently, Suien says that Kandachi is planning to attack Takigakure soon, and that Suien is going to take matters into his own hands."

Orochimaru sighed and then stood up on the edge of the cliff, "What a fool, thinking he can do as he pleases...Kin, how quickly can you get to Takigakure?"

"If I leave now? By midday tomorrow, my lord. Would you like me to end Suien's treachery, or complete his original objective?"

"The latter of the two my dear. Even a droplet of the Hero Water would be sufficient for my experiments."

"Only a droplet," Kin asked.

"Get more if you can, but one drop is all I need. I get the feeling once our forces get into Takigakure, the Hero Water will be in very short supply."

"I'll be sure to make haste then my lord. Shall I bring one of the Yamato puppets with me?" Orochimaru nodded, his back still to Kin. The young assistant bowed her head and then quickly vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Orochimaru stared at the horizon as the sun peaked out from the earth. The Sannin turned around and walked away from the edge of the cliff, heading back down to the settlement.

* * *

Naruto listened to Nagato and Shibuki, enraged, as they tried to come up with a plan to evacuate the citizens. The 'best' option so far was the remaining shinobi from Takigakure and Kusagakure would distract all the the Alliance's forces in the area, use the Hero's Water, and while the chaos ensued, Akatsuki would move the civilians out of the country.

While Nagato, and a few shinobi from Takigakure and Kusagakure themselves, voiced that the younger shinobi should be evacuated as well, Shibuki argued that he'd need every available body to fend off the Alliance.

Naruto had voiced his opinion from time to time, and was shot down almost every time. The underground tunnels that they were all in were collapsed very quickly once the Alliance discovered Taki's secret, and when they could find the underground tunnels.

While nobody liked the thought of the remaining Taki and Kusa shinobi throwing their lives away in a final blaze of glory, Nagato understood that arguing with them was pointless when they had already made their choice. While Nagato thought that with enough reinforcements from Akatsuki, that the two villages would stand a chance, he knew that as soon as Alliance command got word Akatsuki slipped behind their borders, along with one of their Jinchuriki, that Danzo and the others would send a full division down to wipe them out.

"There's only one realistic option left Nagato-sama," Shibuki replied with a soft voice. "I know you don't like it, but our lives are going to be forfeit to save our people." Nagato sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He fought with himself to try to come up with another solution, but nothing else came to mind. "In my message to Kusagakure, I asked them to bring all of their people to our village to make our final stand. We'll have the remaining power of Kusagakure and Takigakure with the Hero Water at our disposal."

"Very well...I'll do what I can to get all of your people somewhere safe. I know it's a different climate than they're use to, but I would suggest one of the neutral countries, like the Land of Snow or Iron."

Naruto's ears and head perked up when he heard the former country. "Wait, wouldn't Koyuki be brought into the war if we associate with them?!"

"Neutral countries like the Land of Iron or Snow are usually safe havens for those who wish to get away from wars like this," Nagato explained. "Nobody has yet to persecute one of these countries in a time of war. And besides, we're moving civilians, not shinobi. Even Danzo wouldn't dare to attack civilians when they made refuge in the Land of Iron or Snow."

Naruto nodded as his eyes slowly registered this information. In the back of his head though, he was still worried for Koyuki and her country, but he also trusted Nagato's judgment.

"I'm sure they won't care, so long as they have a safe place to live," Shibuki said with a caring tone. "The remaining funds I have in my village will be given to the civilians for the cost of their trip and to establish their homes in the Land of Snow or Iron. I hope you won't mind if any left over goes to my people instead of to Akatsuki for compensation."

"Getting innocent civilians to safety and out of the hands of the Alliance is more than enough of payment for us," Nagato replied, holding up his hands. "Besides, you all are paying a big enough price for all of us."

Shibuki nodded and gave an appreciative smile towards the band of rogues. For whatever reason, the leader of Takigakure felt as though his faith was soundly placed with the people of Akatsuki.

"MOVE! Make way," a loud voice boomed from the outside. All the heads in the room turned to the sound of murmuring and chatter. A heavily wounded Kusagakure shinobi stumbled into the room, clutching his bleeding side, much to everyone's shock.

"Get this man medical attention," Shibuki ordered.

"NO! I'm dead on my feet," the shinobi growled. "Don't waste your time and energy..." More chatter was heard as Shibuki and Nagato knelt down next to the wounded soldier.

"Where did you come from...what happened," Shibuki asked.

"I...I came from my village, Kusagakure...Alliance attacked in force..." Shocked gasps and whispers echoed throughout the chamber, while Shibuki's eyes widened in shock. Shiore and Karin both listened intently, shocked and worried about what could have happened. "We...we took out a huge number of the bastards...wiped out at least half of the platoon they sent...their numbers nose dived through the ground because of us..."

"That doesn't make any sense," Nagato murmured. "The Alliance is powerful sure, but without reinforcements there's no way any sane commander would dare such an assault."

"I don't care what their reasons were!" The Kusa shinobi coughed up more blood, clutching his chest. Naruto watched in silence, remembering the similar situation where the Taki shinobi arrived to Akatsuki and recruited them to help. "We kicked their asses and sent the lot of em to hell! But...our village...Kusagakure is wiped off of the map..."

Silence hung heavily in the room. Nobody knew entirely how to comprehend that an entire village had just been wiped out.

Nagato lowered his head, his eyes narrowed as he tried to think the Alliance's actions through. Nothing made sense in this rather bold, and successful move. Granted, Kusagakure took a major blow, but the lives lost in the sacking of Kusagakure? There's no way even Danzo would agree to such brutality if the casualties would sky rocket.

"Our leaders got the message just before they attacked..." The shinobi looked up at Shibuki, a strange glimmer in his eyes. "They gave you approval for your plan. All of our shinobi are at your command, and you have the former leader's permission to use every last shinobi you want for the Hero Water."

Shibuki nodded as his head spun. Despite the heavy burden suddenly bestowed upon him, Shibuki kept a straight face, "Thank you soldier..." The shinobi nodded before he fell forward with a soft groan as his wounds finally weighed down on him.

Two medics quietly walked forward and picked up the body before carrying it off. Soft murmurs filled the room once they departed before Shiore quickly cut through the crowds and confronted Shibuki. Silence once again filled the room immediately as everyone watched and waited for Shiore's response.

"My father...may have put you in charge, but I still have say about what you do to _my_ people Shibuki!"

The leader of Taki nodded once with a soft smile on his face, "I never intended to take command...while I appreciate the trust your leaders bestowed upon me, I fully trust your judgment on the battlefield, and what's best for your people." Shiore was shocked to say the least. She expected at least a little bit of an argument from Shibuki, despite the fact the Taki leader was a bit of a pushover. "I've discussed this plan with all of my shinobi beforehand, and each and every one of them are ready to throw their lives on the line to show the Alliance dogs that their choices carry consequences. Your people's choices, will be left up to you."

Shiore nodded slowly before turning around to face the mass of people before her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking out into her people. "I understand that a lot of you...may not respect me for much more than the fact my father was the leader of Kusagakure. I know there are many of you who are older, wiser, and more experienced than I am...but our time on this world...is drawing to a close. Kusagakure, our home...may be wiped out, but our way of life continues on, so long as at least one of us lives. Our people will live on, and we will come back to take our revenge on the Alliance pigs who dared to challenge us!

"Shibuki and his people are ready to end it all here and now...I however, refuse to let any of our younger shinobi participate in the coming battle. You all...the younger generation, my generation, is responsible for carrying on the Kusagakure way of life. The rest of you, older, veteran shinobi will have the choice to leave with our civilians, or fight with me and the people of Takigakure. I won't force anyone to do anything, but if we have enough shinobi from Takigakure and Kusagakure both, that means that Akatsuki can aid us to attain the Hero Water. I know many of you doubt the capabilities of a handful of rogue ninjas, but I've seen the talents of even their youngest shinobi...and how capable they are to take down three Amegakure Jonin. Aiding the civilians, also gives Akatsuki the chance to strike against the Alliance, and you will not be judged or persecuted against if you choose to carry on our way of life. All I ask is you make your choice now."

Mere seconds went by before several hands belonging to shinobi of Kusagakure went up, as nearly every veteran shinobi volunteered. Shiore smiled with a grateful look in her eye before she raised her clenched fist, "We will continue as we always have! Hiding in the grass, waiting and biding our time to strike and finish off our enemies! That is the way of Kusagakure!"

Shinobi of Kusa and Taki all cheered in unison at Shiore's words. The current leader of Kusagakure smiled with pride at her people. _'Father...I hope you're watching from above...'_ Shiore turned to Nagato, "If the younger generation of Kusa shinobi choose to follow Akatsuki to strike back...will you accept them?"

"We never turn away potential allies," Nagato replied with a soft smile. "They're also allowed to take refuge in the Land of Snow or Iron."

"I'll be sure to let them know."

Shibuki stepped forward and looked between the Kusa and Akatsuki leaders, "I'll also make the offer to my younger shinobi as well. I...I may have jumped the gun when offering everyone the chance to fight back, including our young. They may want to join Akatsuki for all I know, or take refuge." Shiore and Nagato nodded before the latter started to walk towards his team.

"I'll prepare my group to help out however we can," Nagato stated. "You two get your shinobi ready. Tell them they'll have a permanent ally in Akatsuki after this is said and done." The two village leaders nodded while Nagato gave them a confident smile before walking off.

* * *

Kandachi slammed his fist onto the table, breaking the thick wood as his eyes bulged in rage. "DAMN IT! Who the hell ordered the assault on Kusagakure?!" An Ame shinobi, who was currently regretting his choice of deployment, nervously shook in front of his commander.

"S-sir, I-I think it was Suien's doing..." Kandachi screamed and slammed his fist through the table again. The soldier in front of him jumped again in surprise.

"Damn that man...I knew he'd betray us sooner or later! What about Fu and her team?"

"U-um...Hisame, Kirisame, and Murasame have all been um...killed in action sir...w-we haven't heard from Fu and Aoi since they left the camp..."

Kandachi's face turned red and his blood boiled with rage. Anything and everything that could have went wrong, went horribly, terribly wrong. Kandachi clenched his fists, breaking the skin in his palm and causing himself to bleed. This whole campaign he was stuck with, and all of the people he had to work with, Suien, Fu, Aoi, and the others, were all people Kandachi requested to Hanzo personally he didn't want to work with.

"Inform everyone that's left, send a message to all our scout parties I'm in command of! Suien has gone rogue, and anyone seen taking orders from him will have to deal with me! Send a message to command as well that Suien is a criminal to the Alliance!"

"What's this about a criminal," a deep voice questioned. Kandachi and the other Ame shinobi turned their heads towards the entrance, seeing a masked man wearing a trench coat entering the tent.

"Kakuzu the Immortal," Kandachi questioned, a heavy tone of anger in his voice. The mercenary nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest and watched Kandachi. "I'm...surprised you got here so fast..."

"I get around. So, what's my mission? Destroy Takigakure?"

"The mission has become more...complicated...at least a third of our troops are either killed, or followed a rogue who attacked Kusagakure."

"Numbers don't matter to me...except in the case of money."

"You'll be paid mercenary," Kandachi shouted. "Just do your job of following my orders!"

"Your orders seem to be rather...faulty if a third of your regiment is dead or under someone elses command. It'd be a miracle if you still held the same rank by the time this is over with." Kandachi scowled, his eyes widening with fury. Kakuzu simply held up his hand and turned a little bit. "Control yourself. I'm only here because I was offered a handsome payment. Tell me when you're ready to strike and I'll lead you to Takigakure, where I'm sure Suien and the rest of your resistance will be hiding."

With that said, Kakuzu left Kandachi's tent in silence. The commander screamed and then threw his table across the room and pointed at the increasingly nervous soldier. "GET WHATEVER MEN WE HAVE LEFT BACK HERE NOW! I want to be ready to strike down Takigakure immediately with that fucking mercenary leading the assault!"

"Y-yes sir!" The soldier, now grateful, quickly scrambled out of Kandachi's command tent to round up the troops.

* * *

The next day, after news of the Sacking of Kusagakure, Naruto, Kiba, and Neji were all wandering around the forest for 'scouting' purposes. Naruto knew it was really to get rid of him and his two partners in crime, so they wouldn't cause problems. Half of the day went by and Naruto felt like he couldn't do a thing to help anyone.

Kiba and Neji both, knowing Naruto as long as they did, realized what was bugging their blonde companion. They also knew that nothing they did could cheer him up, since the higher ups just tossed Naruto out to keep him from causing problems. Neji and Kiba knew that when the action started, Naruto would be knocked out of his funk.

"It's always the preludes to battle that get him so quiet," Neji whispered to Kiba. The young Inuzuka boy snickered and nodded in agreement.

Naruto scowled, knowing that his friends were whispering about him. He chose to ignore it, but was still irritated that he wasn't helping the war process at all right now. The blonde put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky, remembering a conversation he had with Jiraiya before being sent out.

_Naruto panted heavily as he was bent over, his hands on his knees and sweat pouring from his face while Jiraiya stood up, arms crossed over his broad chest, without so much as a scratch on him._

"_Let's call it a day kid," Jiraiya offered. "There's no point in pushing yourself this far."_

"_I can't yet!" Naruto threw off his Akatsuki cloak, now wearing only a mesh short sleeved shirt with his orange pants before rushing forward._

_Jiraiya sighed as his pupil sprung up and threw his fist forward. With incredible speed for a man his age and size, Jiraiya side stepped as Naruto landed on the ground. The blonde sprung back and cried out throwing a kick. Jiraiya stepped back, narrowly avoiding the attack without so much as batting an eye. Naruto growled as he moved to continue, but collapsed on his hands and knees with exhaustion._

_Jiraiya stood over Naruto for a few seconds as the boy groaned and panted with fatigue. The white haired Sannin stepped next to his god-son and knelt down next to him. "Don't push yourself so hard Naruto. Especially not when you have a big mission coming up soon. You're going behind enemy lines remember?"_

"_I remember pervy sage! But if I want to be able to help out at all on this mission, I've gotta be stronger!"_

_Jiraiya laughed his usual hearty, loud laugh, "And you think you'll be able to go toe-to-toe with the Alliance's top brass by training in one night?" Naruto scoffed and turned his head away from his teacher. Jiraiya sighed with a smile on his face and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Look, I understand you're eager, and that you want to help us win this war, but it's no that simple. We've all gotta start out small and work up to something big." Naruto nodded softly, his heart still weighing down with guilt, and an urge to take action. "In this war, we've got to start off slowly. If we do anything to rash or too severe then we're going to be in big trouble from the get-go."_

"_Then what're we doing all of this for if we're not going to do any damage to the Alliance?! While we're sitting around waiting and biding our time, they're getting stronger and stronger and making our job more difficult!"_

_Jiraiya sighed with a smile on his face. He admired Naruto's passion and drive, on the other hand he knew that he was only a boy and didn't understand the more sensitive issues in this war._

_The Sannin sat down and motioned for Naruto to get in closer. The blonde sighed and sat down next to his teacher with a stubborn look on his face. Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest, matching Naruto's posture. "You understand that the Alliance isn't the only threat here, right?"_

"_Yeah, the Union sees us as a group of rogues who are terrorists, and blah, blah, propaganda." Jiraiya laughed and shook his head, only irritating Naruto._

"_Not only that, but if the Union wins this war, they also run the risk of becoming as oppressive and dangerous as the Alliance."_

"_Nobody would want a second Alliance," Naruto shouted furiously. The idea that the world would have to go through the same thing again was baffling, and Naruto didn't believe at all that major leaders of the world would be so stupid. "If the Raikage and Mizukage were going to try to take over the world, then people would rebel and...oh..."_

_Jiraiya nodded his head with the same smile on his face as realization washed over the young blonde. "Our job as Akatsuki, isn't to overthrow the Alliance...it's to preserve balance, and establish peace. We're trying to make the world a better place, one where people don't have to be afraid, where they don't have to conform to the oppressive ideals of a power-hungry man. Killing off Danzo and the Alliance leaders without leaving A or Yagura in check leaves the world at risk for another half a century or so of oppression."_

_Naruto nodded as he accepted Jiraiya's words. The blonde sighed and lowered his head, "Has it really been so long...living like this...?"_

"_Danzo became Hokage at a very young age. Why, he wasn't much older than you Naruto."The blonde's eyes lit up in shock as he stared up at his teacher. "When the Second Hokage was killed on the battlefield, he evidently instated Danzo as the Third Hokage. The Second Hokage, along with Danzo's teammates, were all killed, with Danzo and two others who are now Elders in Konoha. Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane." Naruto, again, nodded to Jiraiya. He knew those names very well, as all members of Akatsuki had to know all of the Alliance leaders. Jiraiya stared out into the horizon, lost in his own thoughts._

_Naruto stared at the ground, and went over Jiraiya's words in his head. 'Peace and balance...preserving both...' Naruto looked up at his teacher, "Hey, pervy sage?" Jiraiya looked down to Naruto. "How...how do we make peace? I mean I've looked at the history of Konoha, and even before then...before the Hidden Villages, ninja clans of all sorts just warred with each other until Konohagakure set an example, with the two strongest, rival clans uniting. So I mean...if the world has never been at peace...and...and nobody really knows what peace is...how do we bring about peace?"_

_Jiraiya only stared at his student in silence for a long moment. The white haired man lifted his head up and stared into the sky as birds flew overhead. Naruto looked up at the sky as well, as if to read his sensei's mind. More time passed as they sat in silence, Naruto wondering what Jiraiya was thinking._

"_I'm not sure to be honest Naruto," Jiraiya finally stated. "Hatred is spreading faster than we can even try to counteract it." The Sannin's smile never wavered before he lowered his head and beamed towards Naruto, with a surprisingly optimistic smile. "But I believe the day will come when everyone understands one another!" Jiraiya raised a single finger and winked at his apprentice, "And if I can't find a way to do it, it's up to you Naruto, understand?"_

_Naruto huffed, a smirk crossing his face as he nodded and saluted his senior, "Yes sir Jiraiya sensei!"_

_The two spiky haired rogues shared a laugh, Jiraiya's booming and proud, while Naruto's was softer, and with a sense of relief. The blonde stared up at the sky as his teacher had done, and grinned happily. Inside, he was filled with hope, and determination to bring about peace._

Naruto sighed softly as his arms dropped back down to his sides. The boy reminded himself he had to keep fighting for peace, as Jiraiya stated was Akatsuki's purpose. _'But how do I know what I'm supposed to be fighting in order to obtain peace...?'_

Neji gasped softly before stopping, causing Naruto and Kiba to stop as well. The Hyuga clansmen reached into his pouch and pulled out a small, black rod that vibrated gently in his hands. "That's the chakra receiver Nagato gave us," Kiba stated. "What's it doing?"

"Nagato said it reacts to his chakra," Neji explained, "and when he gave us the signal, we were to head to Takigakure after the shinobi of Taki and Kusa who weren't participating left with the civilians towards the ports." Neji looked up at his two spiky haired companions, both of whom nodded to him. The boys then rushed in the direction of Takigakure, having known where it was thanks to Shibuki revealing its location.

Naruto took the lead, eyes hardened with determination as the wind blew through his hair and cloak, _'I may not have all the answers right now, but people need me here and now! So __watch out Alliance, Naruto Uzumaki is comin for ya!'_

* * *

Suien scowled as he threw a potted flower across someone's house in a rage. He stormed out of the abandoned house where a group of Alliance soldiers waited for him. They had searched the entire village of Takigakure, and they had yet to find a trace of the Hero Water.

"Lieutenant Suien, sir, shouldn't we regroup with the rest of our regiment to take Takigakure," one soldier asked. "After the attack on Kusagakure, if we were to get attacked by Taki and Kusa shinobi now, we'd surely get taken out with ease."

"I could fight off an entire army if I had that damn Hero Water," Suien muttered angrily. "But where the hell is it?!"

"Lieutenant," a second shinobi shouted. "Someone has infiltrated the barrier." Suien walked towards the soldier kneeling down holding a hand sign.

"Where are they headed?"

"They're headed towards...that giant tree I think..." Suien looked up at the tree far across the village's large lake. The rogue grinned to himself, knowing he had found his goal.

"Lieutenant, sir!" Suien and the other Alliance shinobi turned their heads towards a Suna shinobi standing at the entrance. "We've got Alliance reinforcements headed our way to back us up!"

"All of you stay here and wait for reinforcements, I'm going to secure the Hero Water for the cause..."

"Sir!" Suien shot towards Takigakure's famous tree as the fools who still believed he worked for the Alliance were left behind to deal with their commander's punishment.

_'The Hero Water...is within my grasp at last!'_

* * *

Outside of Takigakure, Kandachi grew increasingly aggravated as he and his entire regiment walked towards their destination with Kakuzu leading them. The second of Amegakure didn't understand why Kakuzu decided to walk to Takigakure when they needed to get there immediately. They had spent the second half of yesterday and the first half of today walking, when they could have covered the ground in half the time. Not only that, but the mercenary didn't seem to care that Kandachi grew increasingly impatient and angry with him.

"How much longer," the Alliance commander snapped finally.

"We're getting closer," Kakuzu replied calmly. Kandachi growled angrily and stormed upfront and cut off Kakuzu in his path. The masked mercenary stopped, along with the rest of the army behind him, looking rather calm.

"Listen here, we're paying you to help us! You're going to help us! I need to get to Takigakure _right now_ to stop Suien!" Kakuzu stared at the commander and then walked past him, still at the same pace. Kandachi scowled and then grabbed the man by his shoulder forcefully. "WAIT DAMN YOU!"

Silence hung heavily in the air, as did the tension. Kandachi, unafraid, glared at the back of Kakuzu's head. The mercenary turned his head and then faced the Alliance commander and met his gaze eye-to-eye.

"Don't touch me again. That's your only warning." Kandachi's fury grew in his eyes as he clenched his fists, and veins protruded from his forehead.

"You DARE threaten me!? I'm Kandachi, second-in-command of Amegakure, and the right hand of Hanzo the Salamander himself! And you have the gal to threaten me!"

Kakuzu raised a finger up to the man's face, looking him dead in the eye, "Only one warning..." With that reminder, Kakuzu turned and continued down the trail towards his former home village. Behind him, Kandachi's anger boiled his blood before he stormed off behind the mercenary.

Kakuzu stopped for a moment and narrowed his eyes a little. Kandachi stopped next to him and glared, "What now?"

"Hm...looks like the village has already been infiltrated..."

"Say what," Kandachi shouted furiously. Kakuzu continued to stare ahead in silence, only furthering Kandachi's rage. Kakuzu, having kept tabs on his old home village throughout the years had seen forced signs of infiltration on the side of the mountain that housed Takigakure. Anyone else who didn't come from the village, or who didn't know where it was could have easily overlooked that detail. In his rage, Kandachi grabbed Kakuzu's shoulder again and forcefully turned the masked mercenary towards him. "Answer me when I talk to you!"

Without warning, Kakuzu's arm shot up and gripped Kandachi's throat. The man's face was immediately replaced with one of fear as he shook and writhed as Kakuzu lifted him off of the ground as his feet kicked wildly for the ground.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Without pause, Kakuzu broke Kandachi's neck, killing the man instantly, much to the Alliance shinobi's complete and utter shock.

Kakuzu tossed the body to the side like a rag-doll before looking up at the mob of leaderless shinobi before him. Half expecting them all to attack, Kakuzu's eyes shifted down as a figure landed between him and the Alliance shinobi. A young woman with light green hair and dark skin smirked up at the Alliance shinobi, as a man with unusually spiked, darker green hair stood next to her.

"You all are going to follow my orders now that Kandachi is dead, understood?" The shinobi, out of fear and respect of Fu, nodded in agreement. The Jinchuriki grinned to herself before turning towards Kakuzu. "We can always say he died on the battlefield can't we?" Kakuzu, undaunted by the girl's forward attitude, nodded once. Fu nodded back before motioning for the mercenary to lead the way. The masked man turned around and did so in silence.

Though sudden, many of the Alliance shinobi murmured to themselves about the very abrupt and sudden change of command. However, most of them knew Fu had more than enough power, politically and physically, to easily take command in Kandachi's 'absence.' What most of them were terrified of was if Hanzo or the other Alliance higher-ups found out that Kakuzu killed Kandachi and they all just stood by and watched as it happened. And even worse, that they just went along with it.

However, at the present time, they were all much more afraid of all the terrible and gruesome things Fu could, and would, do to anyone who would disobey her orders.

* * *

Naruto, Neji, and Kiba arrived inside of a cave, via the instructions Nagato had sent the three boys. Waiting in the cave for them, was Izumi who smiled happily as she saw the boys. "Bout time you three got here. Nagato, Shibuki, and Shiore all have already infiltrated Takigakure."

"Are things really that bad that we needed to rush so quickly," Neji asked.

"Apparently there are already some Alliance troops in the village, with more on the way," Izumi explained. "We need to secure the Hero Water as quickly as possible for the people of Taki and Kusa to have a chance."

"Are they all going to throw their lives away, or are some of them going to help Akatsuki," Naruto asked. Neji shot Naruto a disapproving look, feeling as though his friend could have a little more tact.

"Our job is to secure the Hero Water for Shibuki and Shiore. The shinobi and civilians are heading to the harbor to head to the Land of Snow. Any shinobi who decide to help us will be waiting at the harbor, which we'll swing by on our way back home." Naruto nodded at Izumi's explanation and then clenched his fist.

"Well let's go kick some ass them!" Izumi nodded to the boys and then pressed down on a certain rock. As she did, the wall began to move to the side, revealing an entrance.

"All the conventional entrances were blocked off, but thankfully Shibuki knows all the hidden ones too," Izumi explained as she entered through the door. "Nagato also stated that he sensed some people heading towards the location of the Hero Water, if Shibuki gave us an accurate location. Just be ready for anything boys, okay?" The three young rogues nodded as they walked through a dark cavern, following Izumi.

After a few minutes of walking along a wall, due to the zero amount of visibility, Izumi and the three young Akatsuki boys managed to get out of the cave, and joining with Nagato, Shibuki, Shiore, and the rest of the resistance. They were all thankfully shielded by a cluster of trees, which gave them an excellent view of the village, including where Shibuki witnessed his former teacher having entered the tree where the Hero Water was.

"Alright, Nagato, can you and your team distract the Alliance group over there," Shibuki asked, pointing towards the houses where the actual village was.

"Consider it done."

"We're going too," Shiore spoke. All heads turned towards her as she stepped forward casually, "The Hero Water is something that belongs to Takigakure. As such, it should be used by the people of Takigakure." Shiore looked to Shibuki, "You have more than enough people on your side right now to take down an army with the Hero Water. However, revenge is still in the minds of my people right now, and we're all eager to take it out on those dogs over there." Shiore pointed to the village where the Alliance shinobi were stationed. The Kusa leader turned her head forward, narrowing her eyes, "Don't deny us this...and if there's enough Hero Water to spare, then, well maybe you could share."

Shibuki sat in silence, just staring at Shiore before nodding and looking towards the giant tree, "Thank you Shiore..."

"Just make it count Shibuki."

With that said, Shiore shot out of the trees first, quickly followed by all of the Kusa shinobi with her. Nagato motioned to his team and they all rushed out as well, leaving Shibuki and the Taki people heading towards the tree.

The assault began when Alliance shinobi first noticed the incoming Kusa shinobi. A few Iwa ninjas quickly performed a quick jutsu that raised up a wall between them and the Kusa group. Shiore, as well as a few other Kusa shinobi, tossed forward several kunai with paper bombs attached, which stuck into the rock wall and exploded, destroying the defenses the Iwa shinobi set up.

After that, the small Alliance group charged towards the surprisingly larger Kusa group. As the group quickly clashed, they had the unfortunate luck of realizing that Akatsuki shinobi were also mixed in, which gave the otherwise weaker Kusa shinobi the advantage.

Nagato deflected projectiles and ranged jutsus alike with his Shinra Tensei, along with Neji and Izumi who helped with defense as they charged forward. Haku's speed allowed him to draw attention from the enemy to several different directions, giving the Kusa shinobi many openings, while Ranmaru's kekkei genkai allowed him to help advise his allies on what they were doing. Kiba and Hidan helped push the enemies back once they and the Kusa shinobi got into the front lines, and Naruto's band of shadow clones added even more numbers to their group.

Nagato looked back to see that Shibuki and his team made it to the tree. After a quick sigh of relief, he turned back to the action, only to be stopped by a thunderous booming sound from the other side of the village.

A sizable hole in the wall was formed, and at the bottom of said hole several silhouetted figures stood in it. At the head of the large batch of Alliance reinforcements, Kakuzu, Fu, and Aoi stood, staring down at the group which was paused due to the interruption.

"That little rabble gave the Alliance so much trouble eh," Kakuzu questioned as he let his arms fall to his sides.

"They were a lot bigger at the beginning of this little campaign," Aoi stated with a smile, though still musing as to how they gave the Alliance so much trouble.

Kakuzu huffed as he scanned the crowd, noting the familiar dots of black and red on the battlefield. His search was rewarded when he saw a patch of spiky blonde hair at the top of a black and red cloak.

At the same time, Naruto had also saw Kakuzu, his heart skipping a beat out of fear as he trembled a little. "Oh...crap..."

"There's one leader of Akatsuki here," Kakuzu stated. Fu looked at him suddenly and narrowed her eyes. Kakuzu pointed to the crowd, "The one with the red hair. His uniform matches an Akatsuki leader's I fought once. Kill him, and I'm sure you'll get a sizable reward."

"Not like you to turn down such a prize," Fu pointed out.

"I have a personal grudge to settle," Kakuzu replied as his eyes shifted back to Naruto. "Besides, the price for a Jinchuriki will be a substantial enough reward." Fu's eyes lit up before she looked over at Naruto. The two Jinchuriki's eyes met for a moment before Fu huffed with a slight smirk on her face.

"Well...this is quite interesting indeed..."

* * *

The shinobi of Takigakure followed their leader to a wooden door inside of their village's tree. Shibuki signaled for his men to stop, to which they obeyed. He knew if Suien was inside, he would have to confront his former teacher alone, especially if it was for the possession of the Hero Water. Shibuki stepped forward and slowly opened the wooden door and entered the room before closing the door behind him.

He looked over at the floor and saw a large puddle of blood, streaming from the body of a familiar older man with spiky grey hair. Shibuki gasped in shock before looking up at the front of the room, seeing a strange man in a Konohagakure uniform, standing next to a young woman with long black hair, pouring some water into a small vial.

"Stop right there," Shibuki shouted. The brown haired man stepped between Shibuki and the girl, who ignored the Taki leader and filled up the vial about halfway.

"You're Shibuki, right," the woman asked. Shibuki gasped that the woman knew who he was before she lowered the jar of Hero Water to her side. "Suien informed us of you, and that you were Takigakure's leader. He came to my lord for help, but it seems that all Suien knows is treachery."

"Is that why the Alliance invaded us," Shibuki angrily questioned, clenching his gloved fists. "Because Suien fed you all those lies that Takigakure and Kusagakure were forming a treaty to join the Union?!"

"Actually that was a lie my lord told Danzo," the woman said. "Suien just told us about the Hero Water, and it's capabilities. While he knew Danzo and the other Alliance leaders wouldn't have believed the rumors of the Hero Water, he knew my master would."

Shibuki narrowed his eyes as his mind was sent reeling with the possibilities of anyone who would be crazy enough to believe something as fabled as the Hero Water. Realization struck as his expression changed to shock, "Orochimaru..."

"That's correct," Kin stated. "Orochimaru also wanted the Hero Water, as he knew the after affect of the Water, having encountered it firsthand. Suien evidently didn't know this side effect, which is why the fool was so eager to betray Orochimaru."

"Why are you telling me this," Shibuki asked. "Aren't you my enemy?" Kin tossed the jar towards Shibuki, who in a shock barely caught it without losing a drop. Shibuki looked at the jar in disbelief before looking back up at Kin.

"Orochimaru only needs a bit of the Hero Water. The rest is yours. You have one of two options." The woman lifted up her finger and held it out in front of her, smirking as she did. "You can warn Akatsuki and the Alliance soldiers out there that Orochimaru fabricated the story that Kusa and Taki were going to attack the Alliance, thus crippling the Alliance even further than you already have. The drawback is that you all would have to flee, as you couldn't win this battle, leaving Takigakure and it's Hero Water in the hands of the Alliance."

"The men Suien brought won't be enough to stop our group," Shibuki shouted. A loud explosion rumbled and gently shook the tree. Shibuki looked up, wondering what was happening while the woman only smiled.

"They brought reinforcements, being led by Takigakure's former Jinchuriki, Hanzo's second-in-command, and Kakuzu the Immortal, an S-class ninja, also from Takigakure. All and all, without the Hero Water, you all don't stand much of a chance, now do you?" Shibuki scowled while Kin chuckled as she corked the vial of Hero Water. The woman lifted it up to eye-level and swirled the liquid around. "Option two...you and your men drink the Hero Water, giving you all the edge in this battle, and ensuring that your Akatsuki friends can get away with one of their leaders, and a Jinchuriki originally belonging to Konohagakure. The drawback to this option is that while you will more than likely win this battle, you and your people will die due to the effects of the Hero Water."

"You heartless bitch," Shibuki growled.

Kin laughed mockingly before placing the vial into a secure holding on her belt, "Make your choice quickly, oh-great leader. I'm not sure how much longer Akatsuki and Kusagakure can last without your reinforcements. Wouldn't it be so tragic if their sacrifice meant nothing though?"

Shibuki growled angrily and scowled at the woman who smiled at him. The Taki leader then looked at the jar of Hero Water in his hand, clenching it tightly, and desperately.

"Father..."

* * *

Another explosion went off outside as Naruto, his Akatsuki cloak now tattered and his hair disheveled, slid out of the smoke covered in sweat and panting heavily. He looked up and saw one of Kakuzu's strange black creature flying overhead as it rained down a series of fireballs on the young blonde. Naruto spun around and started running as fast as he could along the water as the fireballs exploded behind him on the water's surface.

Kakuzu himself was walking on the water slowly behind Naruto, revealing himself as the smoke blew away in front of him. The blonde looked back over his shoulder, seeing the masked menace stalking behind him slowly.

The blonde turned back around just as a foot connected with his face, throwing him to the side and causing him to bounce across the water like a stone. Naruto landed on all fours and skidded across the water before looking up at his green haired attacker. Fu smirked as she slowly descended and landed on the water, beaming at Naruto.

Across from Naruto on the other side was Kakuzu who was now staring at Fu, "I told you I'd handle him."

"He's a fellow Jinchuriki," Fu stated with glee. "The chance to fight a fellow Jinchuriki is too good to pass up. You'll still be given a substantial reward for capturing him Kakuzu, I'll make sure of it."

Kakuzu huffed and turned to Naruto, his green eyes narrowing furiously, "Just don't get in my way..."

Two of Kakuzu's creatures, along with Fu, shot towards Naruto. The blonde immediately created a mob of shadow clones to slow his attackers down, which did very little. Kakuzu's creatures, one spewing lightning and the other spewing wind from their masks, torn through the clones, while Fu blazed through, punching, smacking, kicking, and head-butting past all the clones, leaving a trail of smoke behind her.

Fu sprung forward, blowing past two clones as she sneered wickedly, spun around and lashed out a long chakra limb. Naruto cried out and dove to the side as an odd scythe-like chakra limb came swiping down next to him. The blonde sighed to himself as he dodged Fu's attack, but before he could gain footing again, a hand shot through the water and gripped his throat with a cold, iron clasp. Naruto gasped for air and was then pulled across the water towards Kakuzu.

The hand reattached to Kakuzu's arm as he held Naruto up in the air, glaring at the boy as he flailed and kicked to try to break free. "You've caused me some pain, little boy..." Naruto gasped again, looking weakly into Kakuzu's eyes. "I just have to return you alive, but they said nothing about me not being able to give you a little grief."

The water broke behind Kakuzu as he snapped his head around. A boy with white, pupil-less eyes and long brown hair glared at the mercenary before he spun himself around, "Rotation!" A chakra barrier quickly erupted around the boy as the rotating chakra tore through Kakuzu's coat and into his back. The mercenary cried out in pain as he dropped Naruto, who fell to the ground and started coughing and gasping for air before someone grabbed him and sprung away from Kakuzu.

The mercenary roared in fury before he swung around, his arm tearing through Neji's barrier and stopping his rotation as the boy was forced to block. Neji and Kakuzu glared into one another's eyes for a prolonged moment before Neji was thrown to the side. The boy skillfully bounced across the water on his feet, flipping and jumping back to slow his momentum.

"Are you alright," Haku asked Naruto. The Jinchuriki coughed and rubbed him reddened throat.

Fu stood next to Kakuzu and smirked cockily as the older man's back smoked from the chakra grinding against his back. The mercenary groaned and looked over at Neji as he rejoined Naruto and Haku. "Are you alright big guy," Fu mused with a smirk on her face. "Didn't know a boy could give you so much trouble."

"Shut up," Kakuzu snapped. "These Akatsuki brats...they never know when to quit..." Three black creatures stood behind Kakuzu and started to merge into his back, but their heads stuck up out of his back. "I'll show them hell itself..." Two of the heads, wind and fire, combined their elements together, turning a spark into a roaring flame before they unleashed it towards the three Akatsuki boys. The third mask, the one of lightning, shot out and fused with the roaring inferno.

_'Combining wind with fire so that it doesn't cancel out the lightning,'_ Fu realized as she watched Kakuzu's attack. _'Impressive elemental combinations...'_

The boys stood in terror as a fire and lightning storm came blazing at them. A figure jumped in front of them and held out his hands, narrowing his rippled eyes as the attack hit him directly. The fire and lightning combination was pulled completely towards Nagato harmlessly as he absorbed the attack until nothing remained. A few cinders flew in the air, showing Kakuzu the one who thwarted his attack.

The mercenary scowled and clenched his hands, "Alright...now it's Akatsuki in general that's getting under my skin..."

_'What's taking Shibuki so long...'_ Nagato looked around at the battlefield, seeing Alliance shinobi easily overpowering the remaining Kusa ninja, as well as Izumi, Hidan, Kiba, and Ranmaru. "We won't hold out much longer like this," Nagato murmured.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, focusing on Nagato before folding his arms over his chest as the three creatures in his back fused down into his body. "Well...the Rinnegan. That explains so much about him."

"The Rinnegan," Fu asked as she turned her head to Kakuzu. "There's no way! That dojutsu...it's just a legend!"

"It's far from a legend my dear," Kakuzu stated. "That power he displayed, was the Preta Path, the path that symbolizes unquenchable thirst. To fit it's symbolism, the Preta Path ability can absorb any chakra based jutsu, or attack." Fu scowled and turned her head to Nagato, refusing to believe the Rinnegan was true. Kakuzu lowered his arms to his sides, "Regardless of his powers, even he can't save all of these people." Kakuzu groaned as two of his creatures came out of his back with much strain on the mercenary. The masked man looked up at Nagato as his creatures flew apart.

Nagato's eyes followed one of the creatures as it unleashed a powerful gust of wind onto the Kusa shinobi, throwing most of them back and cutting a few across their bodies. The sound of nearly a dozen men and women crying out in pain caught Nagato's attention. The three boys next to their leader turned to the other side as the fire creature landed in the center of a group of Kusa shinobi. At first, the shinobi were unsure of what to do before they all charged at once. The creature flew into the air and unleashed a powerful ball of fire that exploded in the center of the group. As the smoke cleared, a couple of bodies flew out from the smoke, while other mangled, charred, and smoking bodies floated in the water's surface.

Nagato growled and glared at Kakuzu, "Damn you..." Kakuzu only huffed under his mask as his gaze met the redhead's.

"Everyone stay away from those black creatures," Shiore shouted as she saw her people being killed effortlessly by them.

Kakuzu's eyes drifted towards Shiore, "A wasted effort..." Three more black creatures broke out from Kakuzu's back, making a total of five.

Naruto glared at the masked man, "Five of them...just like last time..."

Kakuzu lifted up his arm, sending the other three creatures out to attack, "Kill them all!"

Alliance soldier roared a furious war cry as they rushed the Kusa shinobi, all of them ready to end their pissing contest of a war. Before anyone could attack, a colossal tornado of water erupted upward, around the Akatsuki and Kusa shinobi, either sweeping the Alliance shinobi up in the waters, or ensuring that they couldn't attack.

"What in the world," Kakuzu murmured as he watched the swirling tower of water. The whirlwind fell, causing the water to rain down around the whole village and for the water's surface to bounce, unsettled by the large-scale jutsu.

"Step away from our allies," a voice called out. Kakuzu, Fu, and all Alliance heads turned around, followed quickly by the Akatsuki and Kusagakure shinobi.

Coming from the giant tree in Takigakure, led by Shibuki, was a small army of ninjas with visible chakra swirling around them, marching towards the battlefield. The soldiers of the Alliance all stared in awe while Fu and Kakuzu seemed unfazed.

"The Hero Water, eh," Kakuzu questioned.

"Did they all drink that shit," Fu snapped.

Shibuki focused his eyes on the enemy as he marched forward with the will and anger of his people, literally, behind him.

* * *

**So...yeah, how bout that. An update that you didn't have to wait forever for! Crazy right? I hope you all liked this chapter. The original draft I had to delete the second half of it because it felt rushed...and well, it still feels kinda rushed. I apologize for that though x( But the whole Kusa/Taki Uprising Arc thingie, well that's gonna end next chapter. As for the next arc...well I don't have a clue as to what I'm gonna do. Probably focus on the actual war for a change. So all you Sakura haters, brace yourself, the next chapter or two may be Sakura heavy =O**

**Again, I apologize very much for the chapter being rushed. I know there are a few instances where there seem to be plot-holes in this chapter, like Kin saying Kandachi is fighting despite Kakuzu killed him. The reasoning behind that is that Kin didn't know Kakuzu had killed Kandachi and all. And there was another one I think...don't remember what it was though, but oh well.**

**Naruto gets his usual Naruto-moment next chapter, cool stuff happens, yada yada, basic actiony stuff. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll work on the next one as quickly as I can. Thanks for reading! Sorry if it feels rushed and all that!**


	4. Blaze of Glory

Fu scowled as an army of chakra-enhanced Takigakure shinobi marched towards her and her soldiers. "Looks like Suien was beaten to the punch," Fu growled as she clenched her fists. The Jinchuriki would rather have dealt with one super-powered rogue than a small battalion of them. "All fire users spread out and keep your distance! Any lightning and water users, keep those bastards busy!"

Fu shot forward, throwing a large amount of water back behind her as she did. Kakuzu's cloak ruffled a bit as he watched the Jinchuriki charge the enemy. "Foolish child..."

Shibuki performed a quick series of hand signs, "Water style: water dragon jutsu!" A large amount of water swirled up behind the Taki leader and then shot forward at Fu, taking the shape of a dragon.

_'The water dragon jutsu, that quickly?!'_ Fu had less than a second to process what had happened before she was hit directly with the jutsu.

"Everyone, take down the Alliance," Shibuki roared. The angered, scarred people of Takigakure matched their leader's roar and then charged forward, performing various water style jutsus to bombard the enemy.

The Alliance soldiers cried out as they were thrown, blown apart from each other, and scattered, making them easier to pick off, and most disorganized in battle.

Thankfully, the Taki shinobi were careful enough to not hit or hurt their Kusa or Akatsuki allies. Nagato watched as the Taki shinobi rushed in and attacked the Alliance soldiers, pushing them back towards the village and off of the lake.

"Our job is done then," Nagato murmured. The Akatsuki shinobi turned to their leader in surprise. Nagato watched as the final battle between Takigakure and the Alliance commenced. "Shibuki and his people have acquired the Hero Water...this is their final stand...we have no place here."

"You can't be serious," Naruto shouted in protest.

"Now isn't the time," Izumi reluctantly spoke. "Nagato-san is right...if this is what Shibuki wants...then we have to respect that choice."

Four Taki shinobi unleashed their own separate water jutsus upon Kakuzu. The water jutsus all came crashing down on the mercenary, who evidently made no effort to dodge the attack. As the water rained down and settled, Kakuzu was revealed to be standing still, and unharmed. He looked back, noticing that the Alliance shinobi were being pushed back onto solid land, with nowhere else to fall back to.

One Taki shinobi rushed forward with a sword and swung down on Kakuzu, only for his sword to snap in half upon impact. The man gasped in fear before Kakuzu backhanded him with enough force to send him flying.

"This is getting ridiculous..." The other three shinobi charged Kakuzu, only for him to fall into the water without even a twitch of a finger.

"I refuse to leave," Naruto shouted at the backs of his comrades. Nagato turned around as well, growling with frustration.

"This isn't the time Naruto! If you're not going to come back, we'll make you come back!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes on Nagato, whose patience was wearing dangerously thin. Before either of them could continue shouting, a figure broke out from the water behind Naruto, and immediately went to grab him. Naruto whipped his hear around, seeing Kakuzu's dark hand reaching for him. Nagato moved his arm out, but knew he couldn't use any of his techniques in time. Before Kakuzu could grab Naruto, a powerful torrent of water crashed into the mercenary's side, sending him flying several meters away from Naruto.

The Akatsuki band turned their heads, seeing Shibuki land close to them, his chakra flowing around him like a powerful aura. The Taki village head turned towards Akatsuki with an almost apologetic smile, "I'm sorry my friends, but I have one last request to make of you..."

"Oh gee, another request," Hidan mockingly asked, "Not like we haven't done enough for you people!"

"A woman working for Orochimaru took some of the Hero Water, and intends to give it to Orochimaru. For what purpose I'm not sure, but it seems Orochimaru is behind the invasion of Kusagakure and Takigakure, lying to the Alliance leaders that we would join the Union against them!" Akatsuki was rendered speechless before Shibuki turned back to the battlefield, where his people fought and pushed back Alliance troops. "My father died in battle against Orochimaru due to the affects of the Hero Water...whatever Orochimaru plans for the Hero Water, it can't be anything good. And from what I gathered, Orochimaru seems to be planning his own schemes, separate of Danzo's or any other Alliance leader. And I fear what may happen if the Hero Water plays a part in his schemes..."

"We'll find this girl and stop her," Nagato promised. "Just be sure to win this battle here Shibuki." The Takigakure leader nodded and then charged into battle against Kakuzu. "Let's go people!" Akatsuki quickly headed towards the exit, while Naruto lingered for a bit, watching the death and destruction as the Alliance began to actually fight back. "Naruto!" The blonde nodded and then turned around and ran, despite his gut screaming at him to stay and fight.

"We'll split into three separate teams," Nagato ordered as they approached the exit. "Naruto, you're with me, Izumi and Ranmaru you two are together, and Hidan, Neji, and Kiba in the third. Use your dojutsu and tracking abilities to fight this girl working for Orochimaru. The objective is to prevent her from getting away with the Hero Water, capturing her is a secondary objective."

"Capture," Hidan questioned, "Why not just kill her?"

"If Orochimaru is planning to betray Danzo, we can use that to destabilize Konoha's hierarchy and make our job of stopping him that much easier."

"Smart plan," Izumi stated.

"Alright people, split up!" The three teams scattered once they got out of the cave entrance to Takigakure, and into the forest.

Neji took point in his team, despite he and Kiba both knew Hidan would be giving out the orders. "YEAH! We're totally gonna find that bitch first," Kiba exclaimed. "With your eyes Neji, and my nose, nobody is gonna be able to get away from us!"

"Unfortunately I'm not seeing anyone besides our comrades," Neji stated. "There's no way someone could have gotten this far..."

"With Orochimaru's experiments, I wouldn't put anything past one's capabilities," Hidan stated. Kiba turned to the silver haired man inquisitively, but the scythe wielding man stared forward.

Neji's eyes caught something as a tree seemed to somehow come to life, and shoot out several square pillars that blocked off Neji from Hidan and Kiba. "Hey! What the hell gives?!" The other trees also came to life, barring and boxing in Hidan and Kiba. The wooden bars then formed several enlonged spikes pointing inward.

"Wood style..." Hidan murmured.

"Yes!" Neji trembled with disbelief, having heard legends of how powerful the First Hokage's wood style jutsus were. Seeing chakra coursing through the wood like a living element was a little unnerving for the boy.

A light laugh caused Neji to turn around and see a woman with long black hair standing on a tree branch not too far away. "Well, well, looks like you Akatsuki scoundrels aren't as bright as some claim you to be."

"Hey, that's the bitch who took the Hero Water!"

"Great observation," Hidan stated with a dead tone before smacking the back of Kiba's head. "Be careful Neji! If she can use wood style, then she's going to be too strong for you!"

"Don't doubt the child of a Hyuga now, disciple of Jashin," Kin stated as she held her hands out. "On the same token though..." Kin slammed her palms together, causing the tree Neji was standing on to shoot out a pillar which slammed into his stomach with enough force to cause Neji to cough up blood. "You're wise not to underestimate wood style either..."

* * *

Izumi followed closely behind Ranmaru, who led her, "Do you see them?"

"I think so, I see two figures up ahead," Ranmaru stated.

Unbeknownst to Ranmaru however, a figure seemed to be melting out of the ground and then launched a pillar of wood up at him. The purple haired boy looked down at the last second, and was suddenly pulled out of the way by an unseen force. Izumi caught Ranmaru as he fell into her arms, before gently setting the boy down on his feet.

The figure in the ground melted up from the earth, his head lowered, "Very astute of you..."

"You're with that girl working for Orochimaru aren't you," Izumi questioned. "You're in our way."

"He can use wood," Ranmaru whispered to himself in disbelief.

The man stood on the ground and looked up at his opponents, his eyes blank and emotionless. "I can't let you pass..."

Izumi pulled out a scroll and jumped down on the ground across from Yamato, "Stay back Ranmaru, I'll handle this." Izumi summoned a puppet with a vague resemblance of a man, but the head of an elephant, and an extra set of arms coming out from the back of its shoulders. "Zosan and I are ready now."

Yamato raised a hand slowly as thin wooden roots broke out from the ground and began to slowly twist around him, "Naming a lifeless object, signifying some kind of emotional attachment to it...foolishness."

"It shows that I take pride in my abilities as a puppeteer, crafting and using them in battle effectively is the mark of a good puppet master," Izumi stated. "Come, I'll show you."

"As you wish..." The roots circling Yamato shot towards Izumi who prepared herself.

* * *

On a distance hill on the outskirts of the forest, Yamato sat crosslegged, holding a hand sign with Kin standing behind him. "Two more of the Akatsuki pursuers have been confronted," Yamato stated.

"Very impressive. Your capabilities with Hashirama's wood style far exceed the previous clone we have to Danzo to capture Princess Koyuki. What about the last two, the redhead and the Jinchuriki?"

"They're en route to the last two clones," Yamato replied. "There appears to be one more approaching the battlefield as well..."

"Who," Kin asked.

"Another Jinchuriki."

* * *

Nagato led Naruto through the forest, knowing that the blonde was deep in his own thoughts. The redhead then stopped, causing Naruto to stop as well, a little surprised. Nagato stared ahead as two figures, one a full grown man, the other a woman about Naruto's age, stepped out of hiding.

"Well, well, you found us," the woman stated.

"We found a couple of clones," Nagato corrected. Naruto seemed surprised, but the clones seemed unaffected by the discovery.

"They're shadow clones," Naruto asked.

"Wood clones," Nagato corrected. "Likely some experiment of Orochimaru's. Don't take them lightly, but we've gotta take them out as quickly as possible to find the real ones." Naruto and Nagato readied themselves while the two clones of Kin and Yamato stood absolutely still. "The First Hokage used his signature wood style to defeat the Kyuubi before in the past. Take care not to use the demon's chakra, Naruto."

"He doesn't have to be using the Kyuubi's chakra for us to incapacitate him," the Kin clone stated.

Behind the two Akatsuki rogues, small roots broke out of the ground and snaked their way towards Naruto. Nagato revealed a chakra disruption blade and then stabbed it into one of the wooden roots headed towards Naruto. The Kin clone expressed shock and then began shaking as Nagato let go of the rod and stared at the two clones.

"Did you think you could get past my eyes," Nagato questioned. "With the Rinnegan, I could see you releasing those roots into the ground."

The clone continued to shake, paralyzed and starting to lose it's complexion, showing the hardened wood of its true form. Naruto only stared back where Nagato had stabbed his blade into the root in awe before looking back to his superior.

_'Nagato, you're freakin awesome...'_

Yamato's clone made a rapid series of hand signs and launched several boards of wood at Nagato. The redhead pushed Naruto out of the way and held out his hand, repelling the wood with ease. The Yamato clone rushed to aid his fellow clone. Nagato's skin began to stretch, forming a line just above his wrist. His hand then parted from his arm, revealing several missiles aimed at the two clones. The missiles launched out towards the oblivious clones, who only noticed the projectiles just before they were about to explode.

The ground shook as eight explosions went off one after another, forming a cloud of smoke and fire. The smoke cleared a little, revealing two wooden figures being burnt up within the roaring fire.

Nagato's hand reattached to his arm while Naruto made a face mixed with shock and disgust. The young Jinchuriki always heard about the various techniques Nagato utilized because of his Rinnegan, but it was the first time he had seen the Asura Path in action before.

"Well that was a lot easier than expected," Nagato stated. "I suppose that whatever person is using the First Hokage's wood style isn't nearly as proficient as he was at it."

"So I don't have to worry about cutting loose with them?" Nagato turned to Naruto with a smile, pointing at the ground. Naruto looked down, again noticing the roots close to his feet.

Naruto looked back up, realizing that Nagato was already next to him, pulling his blade out of the root. "Just watch your step and you'll be fine."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Thanks Nagato."

"Don't thank me just yet. We've got a mission to complete still."

* * *

"Sixty four palms!" Neji slammed his open palm into the Kin clone, causing a giant hole to be blown open in its chest, shooting out chunks of wood and splinters from the inanimate clone.

As the wood clone fell to the ground, the prison containing Hidan and Kiba began to rot and weaken enough for the two to easily break out of it. "Keep moving," Hidan ordered. "Call out if you see or smell any of those clones, got it?"

"Yes sir," Neji replied, once again taking point. The young Hyuga looked down at his hand, which shook gently from pain which was visible from his red and slightly blistered and bleeding hand. He took out some bandages from his kit and quickly started to wrap his hand. _'Might have to have Hidan take care of the next one...that clone may have been weak, but it was as hard as steel when I hit it...'_

"Hey!" Neji turned his attention towards Hidan who was right behind him. "You alright kid?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. We need to focus on the mission right now." Hidan nodded and Neji turned his head forward, searching the forest with his Byakugan.

* * *

Izumi's finger twitched, as the trunk of her Zosan started to extend from its face with a repetitive, loud clicking noise as it wrapped around the Yamato clone. The trunk began to squeeze the clone, causing it to groan with strain before the end of the trunk shot down around its head.

Izumi spun her arms around before pulling one arm back and extending the other one forward, "Silent kill!" An audible slicing sound was heard and the clone's feet fell limply. The trunk began to unwind and release the clone which started to crumble like ash on the ground. Zosan's trunk released the head, which was now nothing more than a wooden ball. "It was a clone all along..."

"That would explain his odd chakra," Ranmaru stated as he approached his senior shinobi. "I'm sorry I didn't mention anything earlier. I didn't want to distract you." Izumi turned and gave a warm smile to Ranmaru and patted his head.

"Everything turned out okay in the end, don't apologize." The young boy smiled and nodded. Izumi returned the nod, "Now, we still have the real ones to find, don't we?"

Ranmaru nodded and took point, "I can still see them! Follow me!" The boy sprung up into the trees with the puppeteer, who quickly wrapped up her puppet and carried it on her back, hastily following behind him.

* * *

Yamato's eyes opened as he stood up onto his feet, "My clones have been eliminated..."

"Unfortunate," Kin murmured. "I guess your potential has it's limits. How much chakra do you have left?"

"Sixty percent." Kin nodded and turned her back on Yamato and began to walk away.

"Keep them busy. I absolutely have to get this back to Orochimaru. You understand, don't you?" Yamato simply nodded before Kin vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Fierce battle cries roared over the sounds of shinobi shouting the names of their jutsus, as the village of Takigakure was thrown into complete chaos. While the shinobi of Taki themselves held their own exceedingly well thanks to the Hero Water, more and more shinobi from Kusagakure were getting cut down. The only Alliance shinobi that seemed to be capable of holding their own were Kakuzu, Fu, and a select few Jonin, with the former two being the only ones who could actually kill any of the chakra enhanced ninjas.

Shiore growled as she was pushed back by several explosions, covered in dirt and blood as she looked on. She saw more bodies of her own people than Alliance or Taki soldiers. Her heart sank and burned with sorrow and rage. She wanted to keep fighting, even though it meant her people's genocide. But they all agreed that this was their course of action, and she was determined to see it through.

Lost in her own thoughts, Shiore was unaware of three Alliance shinobi rushing her from behind. Before they could strike, they were washed away by a water dragon that sent them crashing into the far off ground. Shiore turned her head as she saw Shibuki land in place of the three attackers.

"Are you alright," Shibuki asked.

"I'm fine! Worry about yourself!"

Shibuki turned to Shiore, his eyes hardened firmly, "Shiore, listen, you've gotta take your remaining people and leave!"

"You can't be serious!? Not this shit again!"

"Your people are barely holding their own! And the affects of the Hero Water will take their hold soon, and my people will start dropping too! Akatsuki needs more people on their side! They rely on stealth and espionage, the type of work your people excel at! They're also going to need strong, quick minds like yours, and men and women who have fought the Alliance on the battlefield before!"

"I'm not leaving you to die! We both swore that we'd die together to take down this dogs!"

"This isn't a request Shiore! It's an order! Take your people, and head towards the rendezvous point and wait for Akatsuki to find you! They're going to need you damn it!"

Shiore scowled, fighting back the guilt that weighed her heart down, "Shibuki...I can't leave you!" The leader of Takigakure simply walked up and stood next to Shiore, making a single hand sign.

"You're going to have to..." Shiore lowered and turned her head away with regret. "Go, now Shiore."

The Kusa kunoichi ran away from Shibuki and turned around one last time, "People of Kusa! Retreat now! We're falling back!"

Several shinobi turned heads and called out to their comrades before running back towards Shiore's position, heading for the exit. Shiore stayed behind, ensuring that every last ninja from her village had left before giving Shibuki and his people one last regretful look before running away with her people.

Fu and Kakuzu watched the scene, the former scowling and slamming her fist into the ground, "Damn it! They're getting away!"

"It doesn't make a difference," Kakuzu stated. "Those shinobi were fodder. Now we can focus on our real threat." The masked mercenary walked forward slowly, "At least until the Hero Water claims their lives..."

"Everyone get ready," Shibuki cried out. "This is our last stand!" The people of Taki cried out and charged with their leader at point. _'Shiore...please survive...help Akatsuki...and I wish you the best of luck Nagato...Naruto.'_

* * *

Yamato stood silent on the hill before turning towards the left as Izumi and Ranmaru appeared. Before either party could share a word, Naruto and Nagato arrived as well, followed very shortly by Hidan, Neji, and Kiba.

"Looks like the gangs all here," Izumi stated.

"Where's the black haired girl though," Nagato asked. "The one Shibuki said would have the Hero Water?"

"She's gone on ahead," Yamato answered. The Akatsuki ground stared at the wood user who clapped his hands together. "Utilize ten percent. Half chakra left..."

The earth began to stir in various, isolated areas as it transformed into wood and then took the shapes of Yamato. The Akatsuki band stared in awe while Nagato's eyes quickly scanned every one of them.

"There's about fifty clones," the Akatsuki leader finally stated.

"Fifty wood clones, and it only used ten percent of his chakra," Kiba exclaimed.

"Attack," Yamato ordered.

Nagato quickly slammed his palm on the ground, summoning a giant centipede that had the Rinnegan, which immediately dove into a group of wood clones, destroying a vast number of them. Hidan rushed forward and began cutting through the clones as if they were practice dummies, his momentum never slowed down by the wooden enemies. Kiba slashed the clones with his claws and drilled through them with his piercing fang technique. Neji remained on the defensive, and waited for the clones to get close enough for him to tear apart with his rotation. Izumi unwrapped her Zosan puppet again, this time using its trunk to fire concentrated blasts of water that impaled and cut through the wood clones. Naruto created his own band of clones, who used kunai, fists, and the Rasengan to take out as many clones as they could.

Yamato showed a mild bit of panic before he clapped his hands together again, "Utilize fifteen percent! Thirty five percent chakra left!" Several more wooden clones came out from the ground and joined in the attack on Akatsuki.

"Ninety clones left," Nagato shouted as he used his Shinra Tensei to blown apart several clones.

"Nothin we can't handle," Naruto shouted as he threw one wood clone into another group before his own clones slammed three Rasengans into them.

Izumi brought out a second puppet, similar in design to Zosan, but with a bird's head. The new puppet used fire while the other one used water. The two opposite elements wrecked twice the damage on opposite sides of the battlefield.

Yamato watched in horror as his clones were being torn apart with little to no effort by a small band of ninjas, most of them kids. The ninja then slammed his palms together again, causing his clones to stop. The Akatsuki team all stopped as well, more surprised than anything else, and looked over at the source of the clones.

"Utilize remaining chakra! Wood style: great forest creation!"

Nagato's eyes widened in shock as the ground began to rumble. Several trees broke out of the ground, and all the wood clones turned into trees as well. "Everyone move," Nagato ordered.

The rogues began to head out, but found it difficult with all the trees growing and swirling upwards, threatening to twist around them and crush them completely. Yamato even turned into a towering wooden tree and joined the cluster of trees twisting together.

"Shinra Tensei," Nagato shouted as he unleashed his signature move. Even with all its power, the Shinra Tensei dented the wood, but couldn't clear a path through the thicker trees.

Hidan tried cutting, Neji tried his rotation, and Naruto used clones and his Rasengan, but nothing worked. Izumi grabbed Ranmaru and ran up one of the trees, "Head towards the top before they close in on us!"

Everyone looked up, and immediately sprung that direction, not asking a single question. Despite their speed heading upward, the trees continued to reach higher and higher faster than the shinobi could run.

"We're not gonna make it," Kiba shouted as he ran on all fours.

Suddenly, the trees began to stop growing, not having finished twining themselves together. The Akatsuki shinobi didn't question it, despite the fact they were all confused, before the trees started falling to one side. Losing their balance, everyone stopped and used chakra to root themselves into whatever tree they were standing on to prevent themselves from being crushed as the trees fell on the ground.

"What the hell just-," Hidan was cut off as he and everyone else noticed an immense amount of heat from below. The Akatsuki team quickly started breaking through the trees as lava began seeping through the cracks and burning the now feeble wood.

Nagato used his Shinra Tensei to blow a hole through the entangled tree before he and the others jumped out of the odd twisted tunnel of trees. The younger shinobi panted while Nagato, Hidan, and Izumi looked around for where the lava came from before they spotted an old man with red hair and beard, wearing light red robes and an unusual headpiece that stretched out into three different directions, and an odd metal plate that went across his cheekbones and his nose.

The old man turned to the group, noticing them, and then turned to walk away. "Wait," Nagato called out. The old man didn't listen and continued walking away until he reached the forest.

"Who was that guy," Kiba asked. Nagato remained silent and turned around, narrowing his eyes.

"Damn it...I can't see anyone, nor can I another chakra level..."

"Hello? Are we just going to ignore that guy who saved us," Kiba exclaimed.

"Our mission was to find the woman working for Orochimaru, and reclaim the Hero Water," Neji stated. "But it seems if we can't find her...then she's gone."

Nagato nodded and sighed, placing his hands on his hips, "Well...we still have to meet with the refugees that could have been left behind to join us. Come on everyone..." Izumi sealed her puppets and helped Ranmaru to his feet before following Hidan who took point with his scythe on his shoulder. Nagato turned to look at Naruto, who was staring at the place they saw the old man. "Naruto...?"

The blonde stood in silence before turning his head slightly towards Nagato, "Hey...was that guy..."

"Like you?" Silence hung in the air until a gentle breeze cut through it. Nagato nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, yeah he was. But he obviously wants nothing to do with us, so don't think about following him."

"So we're just going to leave him out here where the Alliance can find him...?"

"Naruto, we know who he is, and trust me, I'm going to file a report on this. I'm sure that Yahiko will argue the point into the ground that a former Jinchuriki of Iwagakure should be persuaded to work for us before the Alliance gets him, but for now we've got to find whatever refugees from Taki and Kusa stayed behind and get them back to base."

Naruto sighed, lowered his head, and finally nodded, "Alright...let's go." Nagato nodded back and walked next to the blonde, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder as they moved to catch up with the rest of the team.

* * *

Shibuki panted heavily, blood running down his face and his broke right arm as the red, blood stained water beneath his feet gently moved him up and down. Before Shibuki stood Kakuzu, Fu, and over a hundred remaining shinobi. Shibuki scowled as he felt his life fading, both from his wounds and the Hero Water.

"Do you truly have any fight left in you," Kakuzu asked. He motioned his arms out, showing Shibuki the odds he faced. "You know you can't win. Why not just keel over now, and save yourself some pain."

"Ne...never!"

"You're the last one left," Fu stated. "We've killed every last Taki shinobi, and now only you're left, facing a hundred Alliance soldiers, myself, and an immortal. Tell me, how do you plan to fight back?"

Shibuki smirked and performed a series of hand signs, "With...my last jutsu...a fail safe in case the village was overtaken by the enemy..." Kakuzu's eyes widened in horror as Shibuki slammed his palms together. "Secret Takigakure style: water god's wrath!"

The whole village began to shake and rumble before several large holes began to break from the mountain's walls, spilling out water everywhere. Fu and the rest of the Alliance soldiers looked around in shock as the rumbling became stronger with Shibuki's chakra output as he cried out to unleash more chakra.

"We've got to get out of here," Kakuzu shouted, heading towards the exit.

Water then exploded from all the walls, flying inward towards the mountain before crashing together with enough force to crush several Alliance shinobi and lifeless corpses completely. The rest of the water flooded the inside of the village before the whole mountain itself began collapsing inward.

_'Father...I'm sorry I had to use that jutsu...but there was no other way...I...I had to...to help them stop the Alliance...you would've done the same...right father...?'_

Shibuki's thoughts were silenced as death took him away, and his entire village was completely eradicated with the combination of crushing waters, and the weight of a whole mountain, ensuring that the Alliance's soldiers were taken to the grave with him.

* * *

The collapsing of a mountain, needless to say, could be felt, heard, and seen for miles around, attracting the attention of anyone nearby for miles.

Shiore and her people turned to the direction of the thunderous sound, all of them knowing that Takigakure was destroyed for good. Shiore scowled regretfully, and placed her hand over her face to hold back her tears. The only consolation she got was knowing that Shibuki and the others took down as many of the Alliance soldiers as they could in the end.

The Akatsuki team felt the rumbling of the ground and immediately looked around, expecting another attack. Neji was the first to see, simply staring in horror before the others followed his gaze to the cloud of dust reaching miles high from the direction of Takigakure. The whole team stood in silence, staring at the devastation miles away, their minds completely blank. One by one, they all eventually turned and walked away, accepting their losses and that the people of Takigakure made their choice to die with their village.

Kin stood atop the tallest tree as she watched the mountain crumble inward. She huffed with indifference before checking on her vial of the Hero Water which was safe. Kin looked back to the tower of dust before giving a slight salute of respect to the people of Takigakure for their sacrifice before jumping down and heading back to Orochimaru.

Within the rubble of the mountain that sheltered Takigakure, one bolder shattered, and an injured Fu and Kakuzu tumbled out, panting heavily. Fu spat bitterly, panting faster before screaming at the top of her lungs to the sky. Kakuzu rose up to his feet, stumbling around a bit before straightening himself out.

"DAMN IT!" Fu slammed her fist into the ground, breaking it with ease in her burning rage. "FUCKIN USELESS ASS SHINOBI!"

"They weren't completely useless in the end apparently," Kakuzu pointed out. The mercenary began to walk away from the Jinchuriki. "My job is done. I'm going to collect my reward. I'm sure I'll get a reward for saving you too." Fu growled at the mercenary who simply walked away.

The Jinchuriki clenched her fists and slammed her fists into the ground again, feeling nothing but complete and utter failure at the result of her mission. She was well aware that her punishment would be beyond severe.

* * *

The day continued on, and Akatsuki encountered no more Alliance soldiers, so long as they stuck towards the outskirts of any possible outposts or borders. Nobody said a word about the destruction of Takigakure and Kusagakure, because they all knew they were thinking the same regrets and wishing that they could have changed things.

Nagato looked at the others and wondered what each of them were thinking. He knew that the younger ones weren't quite use to seeing so many people die, not that he could blame them though. He could hardly stand the thought of so many people, and two entire villages, completely destroyed. Nagato also knew from Hidan's background that he had seen his own village and his people wiped out by the Alliance as well, due to their worship of Jashin. While Nagato knew that Hidan was no stranger to killing or death, he wondered how the priest was handling the sight of another village being wiped out. Izumi was the last one, though she kept a focused, emotionless expression, Nagato knew Izumi, despite her age and skill, was barely anymore use to seeing so much death as Naruto and the others.

"Up ahead," Izumi said. Everyone looked forward, seeing the sun setting behind the ocean, giving it an orange color. The rogues saw around three dozen shinobi standing at the docks.

One kunoichi they recognized, Karin, stepped towards them. The redheaded girl tried to keep her expression even as she bowed slightly to the Akatsuki shinobi. "I'm glad to see you all are alright..."

"Thank you Karin," Nagato softly replied. "Are these all who stayed?" Karin nodded again, her eyes softening with disappointment. Nagato sighed softly and placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. He knew she was mourning the loss of her few remaining people and those of Takigakure.

"I'm sorry for your loss young one." Karin sniffed and gently wiped away a single tear before looking up at her fellow redhead.

"Just means we have to make their sacrifice mean something, won't it?"

"Yes we will!" All heads turned towards the sight of several wounded, dirtied, and tired Kusa shinobi coming out of the woods, led by Shiore. Karin's eyes widened in disbelief before she ran up to her.

"Lady Shiore! You're alive!" Shiore hugged Karin and nodded softly.

"Thanks to Shibuki's sacrifice...we owe him more than our lives..." Karin stepped back, a newfound happiness placed on her face.

"We'll do what we can. If his wish was for us to survive, then that's what we'll do, right Lady Shiore?" The older kunoichi smiled and nodded to Karin before looking back up at Nagato.

"I hope you believe me when I say Shibuki wished for us to leave...and that you won't label us as cowards..."

"Knowing Shibuki for the short time that I did, asking you all to leave before destroying Takigakure sounds just like him," Nagato replied. Shiore nodded, her eyes softening a bit. "We'll gladly welcome all of you into Akatsuki. But first, I should make a few things clear." All of the Kusa shinobi looked towards Nagato as he stepped closer so that he stood between the two groups. "In Akatsuki, there can be no secrets...once you're in our organization, any forbidden jutsus your village may know, or that you as an individual may know, any kekkei genkai, or other special abilities, they're all forfeit to the leaders of Akatsuki." Nagato turned towards Shiore, "This is only to better understand each individual, and increase the chances of a successful mission. It's not like we're going to run around screaming all of your secrets to everyone in Akatsuki. I only make this knowledge known to you all, because I'm aware that Kusagakure is a very secretive village, but there can be no secrets kept that could hurt or hinder Akatsuki. Do you understand?"

Shiore nodded with a sigh before matching Nagato's gaze, "We understand. Some of us may not like it, but I suppose we don't have a choice if we're to do some serious damage to the Alliance." Nagato flashed an appreciative smile towards Shiore. The kunoichi stepped forward, standing next to Nagato, "Alright then, lead the way to our new home."

"Right, this way." Nagato took point, followed by Shiore and a few senior shinobi, the rest of Akatsuki behind them mixed with a few younger Kusa shinobi.

At the back of the group, Naruto gave a wary smile. Izumi, who was walking next to him, noticed the boy's smile, "What is it Naruto?" The blonde shrugged, his hands behind his head as he walked. Izumi stared in silence, not wanting to press the matter.

"I just wish we could've saved more, ya know...? I mean I'm glad Shiore and the others are safe, but..."

"You're thinking about Shibuki and the rest of Takigakure," Izumi finished. Naruto nodded softly, lowering his head with disappointment.

Izumi placed her arm around Naruto's shoulder, bringing him into a half-hug. Naruto looked up at the pink haired girl who smiled softly at him. "The way I see it," Izumi began, "Shibuki and the people of Takigakure died, but not just for us, or Shiore. They fought to make sure that the Alliance was taken down no matter what. That's what we do in Akatsuki too. We do anything for each other, and we all work towards taking down the Alliance."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he recalled speaking the same words to Izumi to help her when she was mourning the deaths of Chiyo and Ebizo. The blonde lowered his head and laughed with embarrassment, rubbing the corner of his eyes. Izumi simply continued to smile, watching the boy.

"I can't believe you just used that speech on me," Naruto laughed. Izumi ruffled the boy's hair.

"Sometimes people, even we older ones too, need to be reminded of our own lessons. Be it a firm kick in the butt, or just a talk, a reminder never hurts anyone." Naruto looked forward, his usual happy expression on his face.

"We'll make it count. Everyone's sacrifices, we'll always make it count!" Izumi nodded, her eyes closed and her smile widened at Naruto's speech. The Jinchuriki's resole hardened, he smiled up at Izumi thankfully.

* * *

Orochimaru sat in his lab, chin resting in his hand with his finger tapping his cheekbone, he gazed over several files when he heard faint footsteps behind him. "You're a little late. It's past midnight."

"Excuse me for having to cross a couple of countries," Kin replied, stepping out of the shadows. "I'm fast, but I'm no Yellow Flash."

"True, I suppose," Orochimaru leaned back in his chair and turned towards his assistant. "I assume the mission was successful?" Kin pulled out a vial of Hero Water and approached her lord with it before gently placing it in his hand. Orochimaru examined the vial closely before shifting his eyes to Kin. "What of the Yamato clone?"

"It displayed better control of the wood style," Kin answered. "However, it stayed behind and sacrificed itself. It was quite fond of the wood clone jutsu." Orochimaru chuckled at the irony, examining the Hero Water for a minute before placing it in a holder next to several other vials. "Also, the Four Tail Jinchuriki was in the area I believe." Orochimaru paused for a moment as the words sunk in. "The Yamato clone sacrificed itself when trying to use the great forest emergence jutsu, but it was quickly stopped and burned to cinders by a lava user."

"And you believe it was Roshi," Orochimaru asked. "There are many proficient lava users in the world."

"None that burned quite as quickly as quickly as this one. It's just a theory my lord, but if you wish to investigate or inform the Alliance that's your choice." Orochimaru nodded then motioned for Kin to leave.

"Thank you, that's all." Kin bowed her head and then left, vanishing into the shadows again.

Orochimaru lifted up a cup of tea and took a small sip before examining his file titled 'Body Recreation,' next to it was a scroll detailing the Edo Tensei, and beneath the 'Body Recreation' file was another titled 'Project Yami.' Orochimaru took another sip of tea before leaning back in his chair, studying the files once more.

* * *

The next day, Fu stood in front of the Alliance Leaders, Danzo being the only whole being while everyone else, Hanzo included, were holograms. The Jinchuriki stood nervously as her fate was to be decided.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense," Danzo questioned, having reviewed the reports.

"No, I'm sorry Lord Hokage," Fu murmured.

"_Over one thousand shinobi, and entire battalion, wiped out, including Hanzo's second-in-command, Kandachi,"_ Mao's hologram stated. _"You have nothing to say about such a failure?"_

"I was not in command, nor was I the one who suggested enlisting Suien or Kakuzu's help. I simply went along with orders, Lord Tsuchikage."

"_When was Kandachi killed, and how,"_ Sasori asked.

"During the battle." Danzo's eye narrowed skeptically on the Jinchuriki. "He was barking orders when he was killed by a Taki shinobi."

"_Does her report match what Kakuzu said,"_ Mao asked. Fear struck throughout Fu's body, like an icy grip.

"Kakuzu never gave a report," Danzo admitted. "He took his money and left..."

"_Is such a disgrace upon our Alliance to be tolerated, gentlemen,"_ Mao asked with a tone of indifference. Danzo shot a look at Mao before looking to Hanzo.

"You've been awfully quiet old friend..."

"_My vote is against such a punishment towards Fu. Our intel suggested Kusagakure and Takigakure were going to attack the Alliance, and I volunteered for the position to fight them. I was the one who left Kandachi in charge, and allowed Suien to aid us. I'm the one who should be held responsible for this."_

Danzo stood up, his visible eye closed before he opened it again and glared at Fu. The Jinchuriki shuddered with fear, a cold sweat pouring down her body. "A-actually..." The Alliance leaders turned towards Fu, with Hanzo becoming a little nervous. "I...Kakuzu killed Kandachi...a-and Aoi! Aoi wasn't in the final battle! H-He abandoned his post!"

"Aoi came to me days before the attack," Danzo stated calmly, his eye glaring holes through Fu. "He requested reinforcements from Konoha, as any reinforcements from Hanzo would take too long. He also warned me that, despite orders, Kandachi was going to hire Kakuzu the Immortal to help them find Takigakure...I suppose that the order fell on top of him..."

"A-Aoi w-was with me the entire campaign until the last few days," Fu stammered. "I swear it!"

"You lied to us not but a moment again, claiming Kandachi died in battle against Takigakure," Danzo refuted. "And now you're calling _me_ a liar that Aoi didn't come to me?"

"N-No Lord Hokage!"

"_Well...withholding information isn't a good way to get off our shit-list,"_ Sasori stated. _"Perhaps punishment is in order..."_

"_She's a Jinchuriki, a valuable asset. And seeing as how you lost yours, Lord Sasori, perhaps it's not a good thing that we risk another,"_ Mao pointed out. Sasori glared over at the Tsuchikage who ignored him and looked to Danzo. _"The dear girl is simply scared is all. That's the only reason she lied. The way I see it, the war against Kusa and Taki failed because of Kandachi's incompetence and Suien's betrayal. Not Fu's doing at all."_

Danzo narrowed his eye wearily at Fu, who shuddered in terror. "What do you suggest Tsuchikage...?"

"_One could say the blame rests with Hanzo-sama, however, one could also say that Hanzo having to take over for Orochimaru was also a mistake. Tell me again, Lord Danzo, why did Orochimaru have to abandon his post?"_

Danzo glared at the Tsuchikage with rage. The Hokage knew what Mao was prodding towards, but wouldn't give the proud, young Kage the pleasure. Danzo turned to Hanzo and then Fu.

"Your rank is stripped, and you will be under the supervision of a Commander throughout the remainder of this war until you've proven your competence, and honesty to us. Go join your master, Hanzo, on the shores of the Land of Fire. Now, get out of my sight now." Fu bowed her head down gratefully before rushing out of the room quickly. Danzo scowled but nodded to each of the Kage as their holograms disappeared.

Fu wasted no time in getting as far away from the Hokage's Palace as possible, and didn't stop until she reached the village's gates. She panted heavily at Konoha's doors, catching a second wind before continuing onward. If there was any place that she could be safe from the Hokage's wrath, as she expected to face under any other circumstance, would be next to savior Hanzo.

Fu had no idea how long she had been running, nor if she was even heading in the right direction. All she saw were countless trees, her mind racing with possibilities. She knew about Hanzo's mercy, rarely given out and even more rare when it was practiced. Hanzo told her stories about how he knew for a fact when Danzo would torture prisoners of war against the decisions of other Alliance leaders. One story stuck in her mind, when Hanzo told Fu he was with Danzo, torturing an unfortunate prisoner with critical information on a possible rebellion in a small village. Danzo went too far, and killed the man, and simply continued to sack the village regardless of whether there was a rebellion or not.

_'Danzo wouldn't hesitate to replace me,'_ Fu told herself. _'With a Jinchuriki under his belt, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to kill me and replace me! He'd probably lie to Hanzo too! O-or worse! No, I've gotta run for Hanzo-sama's sake!'_

Fu's thoughts were cut short when she slammed into someone or something. She groaned and looked up, seeing an old man with red hair and beard, wearing light red robes and an unusual headpiece.

"I-I'm sorry," Fu groaned. The old man held out his hand, to which Fu took and was helped to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not the one who needed to be helped up," the old man stated. Fu huffed as she dusted herself off. "Where are you headed?"

Fu shook her head, groaning again as she placed her palm against her forehead, "East. I...I just was..."

"Heading north," the old man questions, raising a quizzical brow. "Why is it young women never have a sense of direction."

"I'm fine!" Fu shook her head and began walking away from the old man.

"That's west..." Fu froze in place and let out a shaky sigh. She had been so nervous, scared and unfocused that she was disoriented. "Come on, I'll help you." The old man grabbed Fu's arm and gently pulled her in the other direction. "I'm guessing from your headband that you're heading to the shores?" Fu gasped softly and looked down at her Amegakure headband around her arm. She looked up at the old man who stared back at her. "I don't care that you're with the Alliance. You're a lost young woman, and if you wanted to be a shinobi, then you're willing to die for your village right?"

"U-Um...yeah." The old man shrugged, letting go of Fu who followed him. "Are you a shinobi...?"

"I gave up the right to call myself such long ago," the old man replied. The redhead turned and held out his hand to Fu. "My name is Roshi. And yours?"

"Fu," the young Jinchuriki replied, shaking the old man's hand. "Thank you...for um...helping me I guess."

"It's not a worry," Roshi stated. Fu stared at the man oddly, sensing that something was different about him. He wasn't of Akatsuki, but he wasn't even hostile, even though she was with the Alliance.

_'If he's not hostile...I guess I won't question it...'_

* * *

**Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo , yeah. Got another chapter written. Slowly but surely, I will complete this series!...when I'm fifty three lol. Just kidding. Sorry I haven't updated in forever. Same complaints/issues: lack of motivation, work, life, family, depressing things lol. But I got a weird bit of motivation, she I'll milk that for all it's worth. **

**Sorry again it's taking so long. And thanks to the ever faithful who stick with this story despite it's on again off again chapters.**

**Leave a review on your way out please ^^**


	5. A Dangerous Game

Throughout the camp, word had gotten around about the tragedy of Takigakure. Very few people saw Hanzo around the camp, and those who did usually stayed clear of him if at all possible.

Unfortunately, along with the story of the complete destruction of Takigakure and a whole battalion of Alliance soldiers, several rumors and myths arose about the 'truth' of what happened. Anything ranging from the Nanabi went berserk, to the Alliance won but drank the Hero Water which killed them, and even a rumor that Akatsuki showed up in force and unleashed both the Kyuubi and Shukaku upon the Alliance and Takigakure. Most soldiers who heard or came up with such tall tales avoided speaking of such around any high ranking individuals, like their Commanders or Clan Heads.

The usual trio of Sakura, Dosu, and Zaku were making their rounds of the camp, instructed by Sakura's uncle to check supplies and rations in the camp. Unfortunately for Sakura, she was the only one actually checking, while Dosu and Zaku tagged along for no more reason than they were bored.

Sakura looked over and saw Hanzo walking by. The pink haired girl quickly turned her head and shushed her two teammates. Zaku and Dosu both looked over and saw the Regimental Commander nearby, and were immediately silenced, pretending as if they had been hard at work the whole time.

Sakura shook her head at her comrades' attempt to feign innocence before turning back around, and seeing that Hanzo was staring directly at her. Sakura felt a cold chill of fear and confusion before the Regimental Commander stepped towards her. Sakura let out a gentle yelp before straightening up and hissing to her teammates. Dosu and Zaku turned to see what Sakura wanted, and then spun around and stood up straight as Hanzo stood before the three of them.

"You're Higure's niece, Sakura correct," Hanzo asked.

"Y-Yes sir," Sakura replied with a nod. Hanzo stared at the girl for a moment and motioned for her to follow him where he walked. Sakura grew increasingly nervous as Hanzo walked further and further away from any other witnesses. Her mind raced with fear as she recapped anything that she could have done or said to get in trouble for.

_'Is this about Uncle Higure...? No, crap, it's gotta be about Naruto! Shit! That bitch Hinata finally squealed on me!'_

Hanzo suddenly stopped, and Sakura barely stopped herself as well before running in him. She stepped back nervously and waited a split second before Hanzo turned around to face her. The Poison Salamander's eyes were drifted to the side, not even staring at Sakura, who analyzed the Commander closely. Hanzo's eyes shifted back to Sakura, who jumped a bit in fright and stepped back again.

"I have a request for you," Hanzo finally stated.

"Yes sir, anything sir."

Hanzo looked around briefly for a moment before setting eyes back on Sakura. "I heard that you're good with...people's...feelings, and things like that."

"Eh," Sakura questioned as her face twisted in confusion. "I-I mean um...yes sir, I guess so..."

Hanzo nodded and then folded his arms over his chest. Sakura grew increasingly nervous, wondering why the Regimental Commander of the army wondered if she was good with people's feelings.

"Fu, the Jinchuriki from my village, and one of the only survivors from the campaign against Kusagakure and Takigakure is coming to join our group of the shorelines. She's likely...depressed at the moment due to her failure, and paranoid that Danzo may do something to her because of her failure." Hanzo's eyes grew serious, but they also softened somehow at the same time. Sakura wasn't sure how that worked for the man. "I'm personally requesting your help when she comes here. I'll be far too busy to watch her properly, and she's going to be in need of...consoling..."

Sakura only stared in awe as she tried to wrap her mind around the request. She was being asked by Hanzo the Salamander to babysit a Jinchuriki, and in all terms, Sakura's senior in rank and skill. And she was no stranger to Fu's rather ruthless reputation of leaving none of her enemies in one piece when she loses control. There were rumors that she nearly killed Hanzo once when her tailed beast went out of control.

"Girl?" The pink haired girl shook her head, snapping back to reality before looking up at Hanzo. "Can you watch over her? Be her...friend, when she gets here?"

"O-oh, y-yes sir! Sorry for um...s-spacing, sir." Hanzo stared at the girl in confusion before nodding.

"One more thing. Don't let anyone in on this. Only you and Fu can know about your little...mission. Once Orochimaru takes back control of the Fifth Division, Fu will be under my care, and I'll ensure that you and your uncle are rewarded." Sakura gasped, her eyes widening a bit. She wondered if she neglected to hear that part of the conversation before. "Even within the Alliance, there are those who would wish to see me...fall from power. And you never know who may be a spy. I trust you, because your loyalty to the Alliance has never been in question. Your uncle however...while he is a good man, and won't openly hinder the Alliance, has spoken out against our decisions."

"I-it's okay, I'll make sure Miss Fu is...comfortable while before you have to head out sir." Hanzo nodded and patted Sakura's head in an awkward gesture of appreciation. The Regimental Commander then walked off to continue his duties, while Sakura stood still until he was out of sight.

Sakura then headed back to the camp to rejoin Zaku and Dosu. On her way, she couldn't help but continually go over what Hanzo had just asked her to do. It was so unexpected that Sakura still wasn't sure how to respond to the request. The pink haired girl shook her head out of any doubts, and reminded herself that she needed to do her duty as a kunoichi of the Alliance.

When rejoining Zaku and Dosu, the two immediately beamed their eyes to their teammate. Knowing that they were dying of curiosity, Sakura sighed before answering them, "Look, I can't share the mission with you guys. I want to, but Lord Hanzo gave this directive to me personally, and I can't-,"

"Alright," Zaku replied, cutting his teammate off. Sakura blinked in confusion as she did a double take of her teammate. She then looked over at Dosu, who was now looking away. Sakura looked between the two before realization hit her and she groaned while smacking her palm to her face.

"You were listening in..."

"Yep," Dosu admitted bluntly. Sakura groaned again, squatting down as she grew increasingly nervous. She knew there was no way a seasoned shinobi like Hanzo wouldn't have missed those two eavesdropping. "Hey, come on, it's not like we're gonna mess with your mission at all."

"Yeah, there's no way Dosu or I would try to mess with that Jinchuriki. She's scary man."

"I know that," Sakura murmured with dread, "Thanks for reminding me..."

"What else are friends for?" Dosu punched Zaku's arm, causing the boy to flinch, "Ow."

"Look, just because we can't help you be some emotional support for Fu, doesn't mean we can't be your emotional support. If the crazy Jinchuriki lady messes with you, well Zaku and I won't beat her up or anything, but we can at least support you, right?"

Sakura let out a small sigh and nodded before standing up, a blush on her face as she looked at her two friends. "Thank you guys..." Zaku and Dosu both smiled and nodded to their teammate.

"Support your closest comrades," Zaku said, reciting the first lesson Anko taught the trio.

"And as a unit you'll be strong and your bonds will keep you strong," Dosu finished. Sakura giggled at the two boys, who became confused for a moment. Sakura's giggling then became stifled laughter, causing the two to become more confused.

"I can't believe you two actually remembered a lesson from Anko sensei!" Sakura started laughing harder now. The statement offended and embarrassed the two boys as they quickly tried to defend themselves.

"Hey, I remember plenty," Zaku snapped.

"The hell you do, you can't remember breakfast," Dosu shouted as his fellow shinobi before turning to Sakura. "In our graduating class my grades were only below yours and Shikamaru's I'll have you know!"

Sakura couldn't help but to continue laughing as she stared at the two boys she considered brothers. Their expressions softened as they knew Sakura was mostly teasing them, and Sakura's laughter began to die down. The kunoichi let out a sigh as she finished laughing before looking up at the sky. Zaku and Dosu both then also looked up at the sky.

"Anko sensei is an odd one," Zaku stated finally.

Dosu nodded in agreement, "That's why she was the perfect sensei for a group of weirdos like us."

"No, not just that..." Zaku lowered his head, looking at Dosu, and then Sakura who both brought their heads down too. "She tells _us_ to value friendship and our bonds with each other...but the Wrath of Fire states that on the battlefield friendship has no place, nor meaning. That friendship is actually a weakness..."

"On the battlefield, yeah," Dosu said with a nod. "Off the battlefield though we've grown together, attached. We've improved due to our relationships off the battlefield, but in the middle of a firefight, we can't focus on friendship."

"Does that sound like a lesson Anko sensei would have wanted us to learn?" Dosu sighed and shook his head to Zaku after a moment.

Sakura looked at her teammates before smiling and looking back up at the sky, "Anko sensei is a weird one...teaching us lessons that contradict the Wrath of Fire, yet being one of the most loyal and dedicated shinobi to the village."

"Yeah, just don't tell her she's weird," Dosu replied. "She'd kick all our butts."

"Please, maybe at one time she could have," Zaku snapped with a cocky grin. "But now we've all became super strong. Anko sensei would have a run for her money if she tried to take us on. Not like that first exam where we got our butts handed to us."

Dosu chuckled while Sakura giggled once again as they remembered their embarrassing performance against Anko in their first training exercise together. The trio then fell silent as they recollected on how strong they've all grown since that time a little more than a year ago. In their minds, they had improved far beyond what any of them expected to be.

Sakura looked down at her brothers again and smiled softly. _'I bet this was what Anko sensei was trying to teach us...don't take your friendship with others for granted...'_ Sakura turned her head and looked out into the distant ocean, feeling an odd sense of peace and calm for the first time since the prelude to war began. The young kunoichi could only hope that she'd get more moments like this in the coming future.

* * *

Off the shore of the Land of Fire, miles away from the Alliance, Kisame Hoshigaki and Shinno both stood side by side, staring towards the mainland which seemed to be less than a line on the horizon.

"This is quite the bold plan," Shinno spoke. "And it brings quite a bit of risk to my people I might add..."

"Don't worry," Kisame replied. "Lord Mizukage's spies are working on several hidden refueling stations and outposts once your men cross over enemy lines. Then while the three divisions from the Alliance all scamper back further inland, our forces run a better chance of killing off Alliance leaders."

"While I do like the idea, I can't help but feel that...Yagura is trying to get me and mine killed."

Kisame chuckled and shook his head, "Nonsense Shinno. If you were going to just be cannon fodder for our forces, Lord Mizukage would have never bothered welcoming you into our fold."

"And tell me, is the Raikage in your 'fold' as well?" Kisame shifting his eyes off the horizon onto Shinno. The older man smirked and looked up at the taller shark-like man. "I saw the masked man you were talking to, Mister Hoshigaki..." Kisame's eyes flared in alarm, his expression giving everything away. Shinno sneered and turned to the swordsmen in a formal manner with his hands behind his back. "If I'm not mistaken, that's the man going around claiming to be Madara Uchiha, is he not?"

"Very perceptive..." Shinno's eyes widened before looking down at the source of the third voice while Kisame gave his own toothy sneer. Coming out of the ground was an orange, swirled patterned mask that soon engulfed and swallowed Shinno quickly.

Kisame chuckled before grabbing his sword and spinning around with it, pointing the tip at a young person's face. There was red hair falling of the mask the young shinobi wore, and his blue eyes were focused nervously on the sword.

"Don't worry too much," Kisame told the shinobi. "Your master will be fine. As I said before: the Land of Sky is a useful ally to us. Your master won't be harmed so long as he listens..." The young person glared at Kisame who chuckled. The young shinobi knew that they could do nothing against the swordsmen.

* * *

Shinno cried out before landing on an odd platform safely. He stood up and looked around in a dark environment full of rectangles and cube shaped platforms. Shinno turned his head to a strange sound, seeing his captor swirling into existence before his eyes. The leader of the Land of Sky scowled at the man and tensed up.

"Calm yourself, I only wish to talk." Shinno narrowed his eyes, not changing his tension at all. "How did you know who I was?"

"In the underworld of the shinobi world you hear many things," Shinno explained. "Most of my ninjas? They're scraps from other villages. Rogue shinobi from one village or another who wished to be something more, or who wished to attack the Alliance. Being in the underground so long, you catch onto a few rumors...one concerning a masked man claiming to be Madara Uchiha..."

"Very interesting...I didn't realize I was so sloppy," Madara said. "However, don't think knowing of who I may be will benefit you. I know all about the Land of Sky, and about you Shinno." The old man huffed before crossing his arms over his chest. Madara walked forward, his single red eye beaming at Shinno. "Your experimentation with the Bijuu chakra, as well as the terrifying and rare energy known as Dark Chakra." Shinno's eyes nearly popped out of his head at this revelation. Madara held his hands up to give the old man pause as he continued. "Do not be afraid at all. In fact I think we could mutually benefit one another with your study of Dark Chakra, and my rather...ambitious goals."

"How so," Shinno questioned skeptically. The Land of Sky's leader lowered his arms, eyes narrowed dangerously on the masked man.

"I know how Dark Chakra works, as it's intensified by negative emotions, much like various Bijuu such as the Kyuubi." Madara raised his arm up and conjured a image of the Kyuubi in the palm of his hand. Shinno stared in awe before looking up at the man's mask.

"How did you...?"

"This is my dimension," Madara explained. "I can create and do whatever I want. Now, to continue," Madara brought the image of the Kyuubi up to face level with him and Shinno. "The Kyuubi is a being made of of chakra and pure malice as you know. And also, the Jinchuriki, the container for the Kyuubi is neither on the Alliance or Union's side, making him that much harder to capture..."

"You're after the Bijuu," Shinno murmured. Madara remained silent, staring intently at Shinno with his single Sharingan. Shinno chuckled before looking at the man with a new air of confidence. "Well, that's all well and good, but I don't see how my talents in Dark Charka could help you Madara."

"I was wondering..." Madara's projection of the Kyuubi switched to one of Naruto Uzumaki, "How difficult would it be...for you to create an exact copy of the Uzumaki child...?" Shinno's face switched to one of surprise before looking at the blonde in Shinno's hand.

"An exact...copy...?" Madara's eye stayed intently on Shinno, whose mind began to work through many factors of replication being possible, before one important question loomed in his mind. "Why...?"

"Naruto Uzumaki is rather...essential to my plans. He's very determined and good natured. His spirit will be next to impossible to break, and his mind, while a bit slow, will be difficult to control when factoring in repressed memories, the nature of his heart, his subconscious, and his inner psyche." Shinno couldn't help but grin at how much thought Madara had given to controlling the Jinchuriki. Shinno's mind began to turn as he began to wonder about how much power he could hold over the legendary figure if he succeeded with the masked man's request.

"So you want to make an exact copy? Well unfortunately, Madara, I can't recreate an entire Bijuu from scratch, and the amount of chakra I'd need to properly _try_ I'd need twice the number of shinobi we have in our little Union."

"I don't need the Kyuubi, I need the boy." Shinno's eyes narrowed curiously as a smile curled onto his face.

_'Oh now this is getting interesting...'_ Shinno's mind once again began to turn with theories and questions as to why Madara wanted Naruto, but not the Kyuubi. _'Could it be the boy's Uzumaki lineage...?'_ Shinno shrugged and placed his finger to the side of his head as he began to theorize and develop formulas in his head. "An actual...person wouldn't be so hard to create as much as the Bijuu...so we've cut most of the problems off. But creating a living person from scratch would be...very difficult to do, especially if you want an _exact_ copy of the boy."

"But is it impossible?" Shinno looked up at Madara and met his Sharingan eye. The two stared at each other intently, wanting to know the others answer.

"No, it's not...but it's next to impossible," Shinno finally answered.

"No price is too high," Madara stated firmly as he vaporized the image of Naruto in a haze of mist. "And no resource is out of my grasp. What will you need?"

"The boy's chakra, his DNA, and oh so many other things," Shinno stated.

"Give me a list and I'll get you results, so long as you do the same, Shinno." Before the man could say another word, he was forcefully pulled up off the ground, and before he knew it he was face-first in the sandy ground.

"Master," the masked young figure spoke as she moved past Kisame's sword.

"Well, well," Kisame said as he placed his blade on his shoulder. "Have an interesting little chat did we?"

Shinno growled as he shook his hair and beard clean of any sand before glaring up at the swordsmen, "Yes in fact. We've worked out a...partnership of sorts. Now, if you'll excuse me Kisame, I have many things to work on now." Kisame nodded with a smile as he and the mysterious kunoichi walked away. The swordsmen waited until they were both out of sight before turning his head and putting his sword on his back.

"So, a partnership eh," Kisame asked. "How interesting."

"The fool was so interested in my plans that he didn't even realize he was gaining nothing out of it in the long run," Madara stated, his body nowhere to be seen by his voice heard nonetheless.

"You didn't tell him too much did you?"

"He doesn't know my goals," Madara stated as his red eye burned brightly, "But he knows that Naruto Uzumaki has a very important part to play..."

"Is that all he needs to know," Kisame asked.

"Yes. Don't share anything else, understand Kisame?"

"Of course Tobi," Kisame replied before giving a dark chuckle.

* * *

Fu and Roshi had been walking for a few hours in silence. While Fu found it relieving that Roshi really didn't give a damn about her being in the Alliance, nor had he asked her a million questions, the pure silence was about to drive her crazy. Fu commended the man for his patience, as well as his ability to keep quiet. After a few moments, Roshi turned his head to the side, and then turned to look at Fu for a moment. The Jinchuriki was confused as the man look shocked for a moment as he stared at her.

Roshi snapped his fingers and smiled, "Right! You were that Alliance girl I was taking to the shore!" Fu's face then fell with disbelief as she gaped at the man.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?!"

"Gah! Jeez you're loud," Roshi snapped, using his pinkie to rub the inside of his ear.

"Am I even going the right way," Fu shouted in a very demanding tone.

"Yeah, yeah, we're heading for the shore," Roshi replied. "I just forgot why I was headed that way is all, see."

"You're not even _that_ old, and you're already going senile?!"

"Hey, I am _NOT_ senile! You just didn't make a sound is the only reason I forgot about ya!"

"Are you just dense or something?! Jeez!" Roshi sighed before turning on his heels and continued walking east. Fu's eyes widened as all she could do was gape at him once more. "Are you KIDDING ME?!"

"Either follow me or shaddup and go on ahead by yourself."

Fu growled furiously before following the older man, "Stupid freakin, rude, old fart..."

"You call me old and senile, and _I'm_ supposed to be the rude one? Bleh, kids these days!" Fu became angrier by the second, but simply turned her head the other direction and let out a disgruntled huff of annoyance.

"_You're so dumb..."_

Fu scowled again, this time inwardly though, as the obnoxious voice she didn't want to hear rang in her head.

* * *

In her subconscious, in a floating prison with a clear, glass-like wall, a colossal beetle with six wings at its bottom and one tail looked down at Fu. "You really haven't been able to tell by now?"

"Noticed what you oversized bug?"

"That Roshi guy," the Nanabi said as it floated in the air. "You really haven't noticed anything...special about him?"

"Besides the fact he's a forgetful, stupid, rude old man, no. Was I supposed to care about some wanderer helping me get to the shoreline?" The Bijuu shook its head and let out a loud, echoed sigh, while Fu continued to just stare in annoyance at what she considered to be her pet. After a few moments of silence, which was growing rapidly on Fu's list of annoyances, the Jinchuriki turned her back on the Nanabi, "Just shut up unless you have anything important to say."

"I always do," the Bijuu replied before Fu left her subconscious.

* * *

Roshi stopped and sat down on the ground. Fu's eye twitched visibly with annoyance before the old man turned to look back over his shoulder, "Night is coming up soon. We'll rest here and then you can get to the shores by tomorrow."

"It's still daylight though," Fu pointed out. "And it won't be dark for several more hours, we can still cover more ground." Roshi shrugged carelessly before leaning back, lying down on the ground and closing his eyes.

"That's your choice. I'm not here to hold your hand girlie."

Fu sighed and then looked out into the distant forest. She hated to admit any of her faults, but she didn't have much of a keen sense of direction. She relied on others to navigate her during missions, and had spent so much time in the Lands of Grass and Waterfalls that she eventually just knew where all the Alliance outposts were. The green haired Jinchuriki sighed before sitting down on the ground, her back to Roshi as she inwardly kicked herself.

_'I've gotta have Hanzo give me a compass when I get there...'_

Fu turned her head to glance at Roshi, who already appeared to be asleep. Fu huffed before turning her head back around, staring off into the distance again in solemn silence.

* * *

Shinno sat at his desk, reading calmly through files and papers about the capabilities he's studied with Dark Chakra. The man truly believed that with enough Dark Chakra at his disposal, he could easily conquer the Shinobi Countries with little effort. Something Shinno wasn't sure about though, was the ability to recreate a living person.

As a man of science, and a man who had seen the darkest corners of the world, Shinno had developed many contacts and allies throughout the years. Some even in the Alliance, while others didn't care much at all for the warring of shinobi.

Shinno tapped a pencil to the side of his head, as if to help his thoughts along, when one came to mind. The man hummed quietly to himself as a smile crept onto his face as a shrewd, risky plan came to mind. If it succeeded, Shinno would be very greatly rewarded, and if it failed, he ran the risk of losing almost everything, and perhaps creating a very potent, dangerous enemy.

"Amaru," Shinno spoke. The young redhead appeared out of the shadows, bowing her head to her master who didn't even glance back at her. "I may need your help with something..."

"What is it my master?" Shinno turned in his chair and crossed one of his legs over the other when he faced Amaru.

"I need you to head out an old friend of mine..." Shinno held up a clipboard and began scribbling on a blank piece of paper. "Tell my friend, the White Devil, that there is a man in the Land of Swamps, conducting very interesting experiments, if he's at all curious." Shinno took the piece of paper off the clipboard and handed to to Amaru, who took the paper and nodded.

Moments later, Amaru took off in a glider towards the mainland, causing a few heads to turn as she flew off into the distance. Shinno watched her fly off into the distance, twirling a pen in his hand nervously. He knew just how dangerous of a game he started, but he could come out of it with more than what he would need for Madara's plan.

* * *

News had reached most of Alliance command when the first major battle along the border of the Land of Lightning had been fought. The fighting was described as aggressive and relentless by the survivors and wounded. While casualties weren't high on either side, the number of wounded was nearly astronomical. The medical teams along the borders were overwhelmed with patients, and many of the rest were sent off towards the shorelines to receive medical treatment.

In one of the medical tents, Sakura was healing a boy's wounded arm after she had bandaged and healed his head, which took an unfortunate hit from a piece of flying debris. "There," Sakura said as she finally managed to stop the bleeding. She reached over to grab some bandages to wrap up the boy's wound. As she did, Sakura looked up at the boy. He was fairly handsome, but he couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Sakura herself. "You're lucky you know. That hit to the head could have done some real damage."

"Yeah, that's what my sensei keeps telling me," the boy replied with an embarrassed grin. He rolled his arm around, groaning a bit at the stiffness. He offered Sakura a slight smile before rolling his arm back down, "Any chance I could convince you for a massage as well doc?"

Sakura laughed and shook her head, "As flattering as that is, I've got some other patients to tend to."

The boy stood up and winked at Sakura, "I'll do a rain-check then."

The young kunoichi huffed with an amused smile, "You do that then." As the boy left, Sakura took a moment to actually register what happened. A fairly attractive boy flirted with her, and she didn't react in her usual awkward manner at all.

Her mind went to a certain blonde haired boy, and the promise they made to one another in the Land of Snow. Sakura sighed, thinking back to the promise she made Naruto, that she would wait for him if he could make it to where neither Konoha nor Akatsuki were enemies.

_'Seeing all of this...do I still believe that Naruto can bring peace between us...?'_

"You know, your sensei is outside with your teammates." Sakura nodded, recognizing the voice of her uncle before looking up at him. He gave his niece a small smile, to which she warily returned. "Come on, you should go see her."

"I have my duties here to finish up," Sakura told her uncle.

The older shinobi shrugged and looked at the other medics healing their troops, "Most of the critically wounded seem to be taken care of. Besides, you're no good to anyone without any chakra."

Sakura sighed and shook her head as she stood up and walked towards the main desk. "For a Commander, you're quite the bad influence." Higure followed Sakura through the tent, observing the injured having their wounds tended to.

"I just don't want you to miss your sensei while she's here is all. Did you also know your Iwa friend is here too?"

"I have duties to commit myself to Uncle," Sakura said as she scribbled down her signature on a piece of paper the nurse gave her. "I need to finish healing my patients and then I'll go visit Anko sensei."

"You've been working all day, plus you've healed more than your fair share of patients today."

"Compared to some of the other medics here, I haven't done much," Sakura retorted, sitting down with another patient and observing his file. "Besides, Miss Rin is in charge of the medical division here, and I haven't even so much as caught a glance of her passing by. That's just how busy everyone is Uncle." Sakura quickly reviewed her patient's chart. As it turned out, the man had nothing more than a wounded leg, something yet again simple for Sakura to deal with. The pink haired girl smiled at the older man, who wasted no time in propping his leg up. "Hello sir, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine girlie," the gruff Iwa shinobi answered, despite having a broken, serrated katana in his leg. Sakura looked at the leg oddly before examining his chart again.

"Shouldn't someone have removed that before sending you here," Sakura asked.

"Eh, the others seemed busy, I didn't wanna bother em," the man explained.

"Sir, this wing of the medical division is meant to heal wounds. Removal of any objects or surgical procedures go to intensive care."

"Just yank the damn thing out and close up the wound, it's not brain surgery."

Sakura sighed, trying to keep her patience with the stubborn man, "Sir, it's not that simple. You could have nerve damage, and need treatment."

"It's just a sword through ma leg! I've dealt with hundreds of projectiles in all my limbs before!" Sakura's face turned to one of anger and impatience. Her uncle was already waning on her level of patience by trying to make her skip out, and now the Iwa shinobi was testing her last nerve.

"Excuse me, nurse!" Sakura and her patient in question both turned to Higure who signaled one of the medics over. Without saying anything, Higure snatched the chart from Sakura and held it for the nurse and a nearby doctor to see. "This man is said to have a minor injury in his chart." Higure then lowered the clipboard and pointed to the man's leg. "What exactly about that is 'minor?' He needs more intensive care, not a band-aid."

"I'm telling ya it's just fine," the older shinobi shouted.

"Very sorry about that Commander Haruno," the doctor replied as he took the man's chart, nodding to his superior. "We'll have this fixed up right away."

"Thank you," Higure replied as the nurse rolled the Iwa shinobi's bed over towards intensive care, despite his groans of protest. Higure turned and smiled to Sakura, who gave him a small, grateful smile back.

"Yeah, yeah, thank you..."

"You're welcome." Higure sighed and patted Sakura's shoulder, "You're definitely determined, I'll give you that. I'll let Anko and your teammates know you're busy." Sakura nodded, her smile widening a bit.

"Thank you Uncle." Higure smiled before heading out of the tent, leaving Sakura back to her duties.

However, as soon as he stepped out, Higure backtracked right in as Hanzo himself entered the medical tent, eyes scouring the people. Sakura gasped quietly before standing up, catching Hanzo's attention. She pointed to herself with a questioning look, to which Hanzo nodded and motioned for her to follow. Higure shot a confused look between the two until Sakura got closer and he walked along next to her.

"What exactly is going on...?"

"I can't explain right now," Sakura whispered.

Hanzo turned his head over his shoulder, looking at Higure, "I asked your niece to help me with something...rather sensitive. I'd appreciate if you'd stay quiet about it." Higure gave Hanzo a confused look before they rounded a corner and saw a tanned girl with short, chopped green hair standing there.

Higure's eyes widened a bit as he realized who she was, and guessed at what the request was, "Oh..."

"Fu, this is Sakura Haruno, the niece of Commander Higure," Hanzo explained. Fu gave a disgruntled huff, staring at Sakura.

"I've seen her before...that's the girl who killed old man Onoki right?" Sakura stayed silent, surprisingly keeping her own stare firm against the Jinchuriki, and her senior as a shinobi.

"Yes, but I had more than enough help," Sakura explained. "Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara were there, as were a fair number of capable Genin, who're now Chunin and serving in this war."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard all about how the old midget died," Fu stated as her posture straightened. "Just don't think that you're anything special because you killed the Tsuchikage, and because your uncle is a Commander, got it?"

"I'm simply a medical shinobi for support, Fu-san," Sakura replied, nodding her head with her eyes closed. Fu gave a confused, thoughtful pout before looking back at Hanzo. The man huffed with a sound of amusement before Fu smiled at him and turned to Sakura.

"I like you girlie!"

_'Why is everyone calling me that today...?'_

"Just remember, you're keeping a watchful eye on me, not babysitting me," Fu explained, pointing a thumb to Hanzo. "The Big Man here told me why he asked you to watch me, and I appreciate it. You watch my back," Fu began as she pointed to Sakura, who stared oddly at her finger. The Jinchuriki then pointed to herself, a smile of confidence on her face, "And I watch yours. Sound like a deal?"

Higure gave Hanzo a look of disbelief. The Salamander stared back at the Commander, eyes showing a thoughtful expression behind his gas mask.

Sakura nodded with a smile on her face, "Sounds like a fair enough deal to me."

"Good. Now, I'm tired, so point me to somewhere I can sleep. I had a really long trip..."

"Well...I can show you to the barracks if you'd like?" Fu nodded as Sakura took the lead towards the barracks on the other side of the shoreline.

Higure watched the two girls leave before he looked over at Hanzo, "What exactly happened...? I heard Fu was coming here after a trial with the Alliance Kage, but..."

"While Danzo is a powerful ally, a capable leader, he's also very shrewd. I don't trust him to not take action against Fu or myself for the failure in battling Takigakure and Kusagakure." Hanzo turned to Higure and crossed his arms. "I told Sakura that Fu might be emotionally distressed and would need a supportive figure, and I told Fu that Sakura was also a target of Danzo's for blackmailing you out of retirement." Higure's eyes narrowed a bit at the last sentence. Hanzo huffed and waved his hand about dismissively, "I know about that, yes. I think Danzo made the right choice bringing you out of retirement to help us. You're his shinobi, and what methods he decides to use against you are Konohagakure's issues. For now though, Fu and Sakura have something in common, and as such their partnership would benefit them both...as would it you and I, Commander."

Higure sighed, turning his head to look out to where Sakura walked away from. He nodded before turning back to Hanzo, "Alright...I guess you're right. Thank you though...for helping her."

"It's mutually beneficial," Hanzo reminded firmly. "There's a meeting between the rest of the Alliance leaders, as well as the Commanders. Come on."

* * *

As Sakura led the way to the barracks, she looked back at Fu who had both hands behind her head, looking off to the side with a look of indifference. Sakura found it odd that someone with such a ruthless reputation could seem so calm and casual in the middle of a war zone. Sakura guessed that it was due to Fu's more extensive history of battles, and the fact she just came back from the disaster of Takigakure.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Sakura piped up, as realization just hit her. Fu turned her eyes to Sakura, looking a bit curious. "After I take you to the barracks, I've got to return to my duties at the medical tent."

Fu then stopped, causing Sakura to do the same. The pink haired girl became a bit nervous as all Fu did was stare at her. "Which way is the medical tent then? I'll just wait outside for ya."

"O-oh that's not necessary if you're tired!"

Fu scoffed and grabbed Sakura's arm, pushing her in the opposite direction, "You watch my back, I watch yours. I can't do that from across the camp, can I?" Sakura sighed before just walking herself over back to the medical division. She had already had her fill of stubborn attitudes for the day.

When they arrived to the medical tent, Sakura turned to Fu as she opened the tent up just a bit, "So you'll be around here, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be waiting here for ya. Don't mother me." Sakura nodded and then went into the tent, rolling her eyes quickly after she was sure Fu couldn't see her.

The Jinchuriki then sat down on the sandy ground, leaning back against a crate of medical supplies. She narrowed her eyes as she thought back to the old man who escorted her to the shores, Roshi, and the final moments they spent with each other.

* * *

_Roshi and Fu had been walking for the first half of the day, when suddenly the old man stopped in the middle of the woods. Fu threw her arms up into the air, already exasperated with the man. "What now?!"_

_Roshi turned to Fu and pointed dead ahead, "The shoreline is just up there a few more miles. It's literally a straight shot. Whether or not your Alliance friends will be in that exact spot or not I dunno." Roshi then turned around and walked in the opposite direction, passing Fu. The green haired Jinchuriki turned around with a look of shock._

"_That's it? You're not looking for a reward or anything for escorting me?"_

"_I want nothing to do with the Alliance," Roshi stated firmly, still walking off. "Besides, your group doesn't exactly like me, being a rogue and all." Fu's eyes snapped wide open at the last few words. She lowered herself down and tensed immediately, ready to attack._

"_What did you say?! Are you a member of that fucking Akatsuki group?" Roshi turned his head, his face a confused twist._

"_The Aka-who," Roshi asked. Fu narrowed her eyes, dismissing that theory._

"_What village are you from? And why haven't I heard of you?"_

_Roshi shrugged, a smile forming on his face, "Even though you're young, I wouldn't have thought of you as so much of an idiot as to have not heard of me."_

"_What'd you say?!" Fu snarled furiously at the man, a vein forming at the side of her head._

"_I'm Roshi of Iwagakure," the old man stated. "Rogue ninja, and Jinchuriki of the Yonbi."_

_Fu wasted no time after hearing this and rushed Roshi with a loud cry. Roshi's eyes narrowed as he stood calmly while the green haired woman flew towards him at incredible speeds. Roshi effortlessly blocked Fu's powerful punch with a limp wrist and an open palm. Fu stared and gasped in shock while Roshi casually pushed her to the side. The green haired kunoichi stumbled around before turning to face the old man who was again, walking away._

"_You fucker! Who do you think you are?!"_

"_Oh for the love of..." Roshi spun around, "Roshi of Iwagakure, rogue ninja, and Jinchuriki of the-,"_

"_I heard you the first fucking time! You think you can just walk away from me?!"_

"_I'm trying to, but you're a stubborn bitch..." Fu snarled furiously, summoning up some of her Bijuu's chakra. Roshi paid no attention to her until they heard voices coming towards them. Fu turned her head, her initial boiling anger fading in a flash before she turned back to Roshi, who was already gone._

_A scouting group of Alliance shinobi appeared out of the woodwork and surrounded Fu. They stopped when they saw who the 'intruder' was and lowered their guard. "Fu-sama, you finally made it!" The green haired Jinchuriki ignored the Konoha shinobi and stared at the empty space where Roshi stood._

* * *

Fu looked around as various medics and wounded shinobi came in and out of the tent at different times, thinking solely to herself. The only reason she didn't mention Roshi was because, despite the man's rude attitude, and the fact he was a rogue Jinchuriki of the Alliance, he didn't seem to be a threat, and wasting manpower to find him wouldn't be worth it. Plus, Fu would only dig herself a deeper grave if Danzo found out she let Roshi of Iwagakure go without so much as an actual fight.

_'That'll just be my little secret,'_ Fu thought solemnly to herself.

* * *

The meeting with the Alliance leaders was bigger than Higure expected. It concerned the five Division Commanders, as well as all the Clan Heads on and off the battlefield, and of course the Alliance heads themselves. The briefing had already been given, and there were many debates on what should happen. Most of them from Higure himself.

"I just don't understand why I have to lead this mission," Higure said with a soured look on his face. "I was recruited to be a Division Commander, not some specialist leading a small band of shinobi into enemy territory to a land nobody knows anything about."

"_We know enough to be very concerned about this, Haruno,"_ Sasori stated. _"If our intelligence is correct, and if this Ghost Army is resurrected, then Iwagakure will be the first to be attacked. As it's key to winning the war against the Land of Water, due to their manufacturing of naval warships, we can't risk them being attacked."_

"And I know even less about the Land of Demons than whatever top secret information you all have been keeping. I don't know why you all think I'm qualified for this job."

"_According to our information, the Ghost Army will be awakened when one releases a terrible demon,"_ Orochimaru said, his hologram lifting up a clipboard to read off of. _"And according to the information we've received from our spies in the Land of Demons, the ones that returned all those years ago, the great demon was sealed away by a powerful priestess, who sealed the demon's body away in one area, and its soul in another. Needless to say, the country is...very fond of sealing techniques."_

"So what? You could send a sealing team with the same amount of experience as I do with sealing techniques," Higure replied snappishly.

"I have to agree with Haruno on this," Hanzo said. "Sending a specialized team into the Land of Demons. The target is a medical ninja anyway, is he not?"

"_That's correct, he is a medical ninja. He also utilizes what is known as Dark Chakra..."_ The room fell silent at the last words of Danzo's statement.

The Hokage, sitting in the council room with Konoha's two elders, looked at all the projections before him. "We're not sure how he utilizes it, but it's clear that the Land of Demons is ripe with Dark Chakra...and as such, this mission requires extreme care."

"_And I still know nothing of Dark Chakra,"_ Higure eagerly pointed out.

"Let me finish Haruno," Danzo ordered with a calm, demanding tone. After a few seconds of silence, Danzo continued. "The target is a man who uses Dark Chakra and medical ninjutsu together in an odd combination to add enhancements to his minions."

"_How exactly did we get so much intel on these enemies of ours,"_ Hiashi Hyuga asked. _"I understand we have spies in many countries beyond the Five Great Nations, but how did we only just learn about this possibility of this 'Ghost Army' just so recently?"_

All eyes turned to Danzo, expecting a convincing answer. The Hokage simply held out his hand towards Orochimaru and spoke, "Orochimaru was the one who presented this information...and he does have a substantial amount of proof based on what limited information has been gathered from our spies."

"_Even if the Ghost Army is a myth, as well as this legendary demon, the usage of Dark Chakra, the forbidden, evil power that seems to be the manifestation of pure negative energy, cannot be ignored. If this man managed to get enough followers and utilize Dark Chakra to its fullest potential, then we would have to fight a war on two fronts regardless."_

"We simply wish to avoid another disaster like the campaign against Takigakure and Kusagakure," Danzo said, summing up what Orochimaru had just spoke. The Hokage held his hand out and then pointed towards Higure casually, "As such, we want a capable, experienced commander to lead this mission. It's important that you deal with this group immediately, and end their attempts to raise this Ghost Army of theirs."

Higure shook his head with disbelief. He saw no real reason for him to be sent on this mission, nor did Danzo have anything to gain from sending him out into no-man's-land. Higure then just shook his head and stared at Danzo's projection. "What's this really about? I know nothing of Dark Chakra, nor medical ninjutsu. As far as I can tell, my only _real_ qualification is my knowledge of sealing ninjutsu. Honestly, it sounds like Orochimaru-san would be much more capable for this job."

"_While it's true, that this is a mission I would greatly enjoy to go on this mission personally, I'm afraid that building settlements, in Danzo's eyes, takes priority. Besides, the seals used in this country are a bit...above my area of expertise."_

"How so," Higure asked.

"_Reports state that the seals used to keep this mythical demon and its Ghost Army in check, are Uzumaki Clan seals,"_ Danzo answered finally. Higure's eyes widened before turning to the Hokage in shock. The older man simply continued on, _"You're more of an expert with the Uzumaki brand of sealing than even Orochimaru. Not surprising, considering your relationship with the last Uzumaki in the Alliance. If that's true, you can strengthen the seals, or perhaps even reseal them if it's too late."_

Higure stood still, staring down at the ground as his mind began to connect the dots. For once, Danzo genuinely needed him to do something to aid the Alliance, instead of proving a point that the Hokage could just manipulate Higure whenever he wanted. The Commander closed his eyes, arms folded over his chest, as he began to mull the request over. He couldn't do much to deny it, he knew that much.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Danzo, "I want to make my own team."

"_You're a Division Commander, you have such a right,"_ Danzo told him. Higure's eyes narrowed a bit. Danzo being generous was either a bad sign that he had something greater in mind regardless, or he was genuinely that desperate.

And when he was so desperate, it meant there was more at stake than he would admit.

"I want my niece Sakura to go with me, as well as her two teammates, Dosu Kinuta, and Zaku Abumi." Nobody disagreed with the Commander, as those three were under his Division anyway. "I would also like to request Anko Mitarashi, and Rin Nohara." Higure turned to Kakashi's projection. The masked man's eyes simply focused on Higure, not full of any spite or anger.

"_For what purpose, might I ask Commander?"_

"Fair enough," Higure murmured to Kakashi's question. "Anko would be a good team captain for if something happened to me, as she's use to leading small, covert operations. Being Orochimaru's student, she excels at that sort of work. Rin Nohara is also an expert in medical ninjutsu, and as we're dealing with a medical ninja, her insight would be very beneficial."

All eyes went to Kakashi, including the Hokage's, _"Well Kakashi? Those two fall under your jurisdiction..."_

"_I'll allow it for the sake of this mission..."_

Higure nodded to the masked Commander, "I appreciate it Kakashi." Higure turned back to his audience. "I would also like to request Fu of Amegakure to accompany us. I'm sure her added power will be invaluable, and I'm sure she's willing to prove herself as a capable member of the Alliance."

"_Ah, always trying to play the nice guy, aren't you,"_ Mao asked teasingly. Higure's eyes shifted slightly towards the Tsuchikage before moving to Hanzo. The Salamander nodded wordlessly to Higure before turning to Danzo. The Hokage himself seemed to have no objections. _"Well, I'm sure a team of six would be more than enough manpower for your mission, wouldn't you agree?"_

"I would also like to request the former Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi as well." All eyes narrowed quizzically at the seemingly random request for Kurotsuchi. After a few moments, Higure started to explain. "The terrain of the Land of Earth will be difficult to navigate for a group that has limited experience with traveling that country. Having a native guide us, as well as being an expert of traversing all sorts of difficult terrain as well, will be invaluable to help us adapt to whatever landscape we may encounter in the Land of Swamps, or Demons, should our journey take us that far."

All heads turned to Kitsuchi, who unlike Kakashi, glared intensely at the man. There was no secret that Kitsuchi, along with a vast majority of Iwagakure, disliked Higure's old team, the Six Path of the Shinobi, for the part they played in the war against Iwagakure. Despite this, Higure simply stared at Kitsuchi, waiting for his answer. The Commander huffed and then looked away from Higure.

"_Fine. She hardly spends her time traversing anything though, and you're likely to get lost before ya know it with her leading you."_

_'Sounds just like Fu...'_ Hanzo thought to himself, regarding the young Jinchuriki's knack for getting lost in unfamiliar territory.

"That's all then," Higure said, turning to Danzo. "That team is all I need to make this mission successful."

Danzo nodded to the Commander, _"Then we shall arrange a meeting place for your new team to assemble."_

"Actually, Danzo, my team is already completely here," Higure stated. "With the recent arrival of Division Two and Three's wounded, Rin Nohara is currently in charge of the medical division here. Anko and Kurotsuchi both are here as well, as part of the escort team, and Fu arrived just today, which means I can leave without having to rendezvous anywhere." Danzo nodded solemnly as he and the rest of the members of the meeting realized his picks a little better now. With no objections, the Commander of the First Division then bowed his head a bit. "Well then, I'll go assemble my team." Higure then turned around and walked out of the meeting.

As he left the room, his mind still couldn't help but wonder exactly what deeper plot there was behind this mission. Regardless though, he had his bases covered. Danzo nor Madara could reach Sakura while he was away now, nor could they target Zaku or Dosu to force Sakura into a corner. The favor Hanzo had done him was being returned by allowing Fu to accompany him on this mission, and beyond that, Rin, Anko, and Kurotsuchi were more or less an added bonus to keep Sakura safe, should something else happen on this mission.

And Higure knew with his luck, the worst would undoubtedly happen.

* * *

**Yaaaaay new chapter and inspiration struck all at once! Guess who may take a giant chunk outta the next chapter and hopefully have it posted soon? Well, hopefully me.**

**I can't help but feel I missed something...or overlooked something. That's my problem with not doing a full chapter all at once anymore. I forget exactly what I wrote before, and am likely to skip things. Maybe I'm paranoid. If I did miss something, or conflict with something else I said, feel free to let me know, and I'll straighten it out in a reply or the next chapter.**

**Well, I'm off to start the next chapter guys. Feel free to leave a review after reading this, as positive feedback does help with my motivating myself. Have a good day everyone.**


	6. Dark Days

The leaders of Akatsuki sat around a table, all falling silent as they heard the report Yahiko gave them. None of them liked what their fellow Akatsuki member had told them, but it was an issue they couldn't ignore.

"How do we wish to handle this problem then," Yahiko finally asked, knowing it was the question that weighed on everyone's mind. The leaders and founders of Akatsuki all stared at the table in front of them, nobody saying a word. "I suggest a covert strike. It's imperative that we move fast and hard against this...Yomi character immediately."

"Even then, your covert operatives lack the manpower necessary to bring down the heavier targets," Tsunade answered truthfully. Yahiko glared at the older woman who gazed up at him. Undaunted by the younger man's stare, Tsunade matched his gaze. They both knew that as far as rank they were equals, but Yahiko knew all too well that Tsunade wasn't afraid to use force to get her point across. "You'll need a lot of heavy hitters in order to stand a chance against this supposed Ghost Army..."

"Not if we can take out our target first," Yahiko snapped, slamming his open palm against the table. "The more time we waste here twiddling our thumbs, the closer this Yomi gets to reviving his army!"

"Yahiko," Jiraiya spoke, drawing all attention to him. "Don't act rashly. Tsunade is right about this. We shouldn't rush into something like this without knowing everything first."

"Then what do you suggest," Yahiko demanded impatiently. The orange haired man had grown infuriated that his opinions and many requests of his have been shot down ever since the mission in the Land of Snow.

Jiraiya looked down again as he began to think of alternate choices they might have, while trying to think of a way to keep Yahiko happy at the same time. Konan then turned her head to Yahiko, having grown sick of his attitude already. She knew too well why Yahiko had been so insistent on his ideas, but she held no sympathy for him since he tried to order a hit out on Naruto's crush without telling anyone else.

"Perhaps we should have another mixture of the two divisions," the blue haired woman suggested. "A combination of stealth specialists as well as the heavy hitters Tsunade advised."

"No, last time that happened, Naruto lost control and attacked one of our own."

All eyes turned to Yahiko, with a specific set of amber eyes glaring furiously at him."One of _your_ own Yahiko!" Konan slammed her hand on the table and suddenly stood up out of her chair, glaring at her partner across the table. "You had that assassin in _my_ regiment to kill Sakura without my knowing!" She restrained herself from walking around the table to smack Yahiko for even suggesting that Naruto attacking Kiriya was the fault of the boy she saw as her little brother.

"She's a danger and a threat," Yahiko snapped, glaring back at Konan. "Who knows how long it'll be until she persuades Naruto to join the Alliance!"

"Do you honestly have that little of faith in him?! You honestly question Naruto's loyalty to _us_?!"

"Both of you, enough!" The two arguing lovers turned to their former sensei who stood up slowly out of his chair. "Sit down..." Konan sighed and immediately flopped back into her chair while Yahiko stayed standing, glaring at Jiraiya for a moment before slowly lowering himself back into his chair. "Our meeting is not to question Naruto's loyalty, nor is it to bring up past mistakes...it's to decide how we want to handle this Yomi situation in the Land of Demons..."

"Personally, Jiraiya sensei, I see a well put together strike team being most efficient," Nagato said, voicing his opinion that Konan was right. "I don't see why it has to be a complete covert operation just because it requires us to pass through enemy territory. I mean I did it with Naruto of all people, as well as managing to bring a few Kusa shinobi back out from the deal as well." Konan smiled to her redheaded partner, thankful that he could be unbiased and not always follow on Yahiko's every word.

"I would hardly call getting involved in a small war like that subtle though," Yahiko snapped. Konan rolled her eyes with an overly dramatic sigh, catching the orange haired boy's attention.

"Do I need to put you two in separate corners," Tsunade asked with a hardened glare. The two looked away from one another, taking the Sannin's threat seriously. "I vote for Konan's plan as well. A combined unit from the various other groups we have will be more effective in unknown territory."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement with Tsunade before turning to Yahiko, "My vote also is cast for a joint unit. Four against one Yahiko, the purely covert strike is overruled. Diversity is our best option in this case..." Yahiko huffed bitterly before standing up out of his chair and heading towards the door. Nagato looked to the side and sighed with disappointment while Konan merely glared in disbelief at him. As he reached for the door, Jiraiya spoke with a hard, sharp tone, "Sit. Down." Yahiko flinched a bit at his former sensei's voice. Even Konan and Nagato looked at their old teacher, a twinge of fear running down their spines. Neither of the Ame founders in Akatsuki had heard that tone from Jiraiya in years, and even then they only heard it on the battlefield. Yahiko sighed, surrendering to his senior, before turning back around and then taking his seat back at the table. "Last order of business now is to assign members from each unit to the Land of Demons."

"I'll lead the group," Konan offered.

"I will too," Yahiko muttered. Konan's eyes turned back to Yahiko, who was staring at the table with his hands holding each other in front of his mouth. Yahiko then looked up at Jiraiya, his eyes no longer bitter or angry. "Two of us will be able to lead a larger team more efficiently."

"Anyone against this," Jiraiya asked, turning to Tsunade and Nagato.

"As long as they can act like grown ups I don't have a problem with it," Tsunade answered. Nagato stared at his childhood friends for a moment before reluctantly nodding. The Rinnegan owner could feel Konan's eyes burning through him. Nagato avoided looking back at Konan, and stayed silent as he hoped that his two friends spending time together would hopefully force them to get along again. Jiraiya then looked at Konan who made no remark before prying her angry eyes off of Nagato.

Jiraiya sighed, restraining himself from going into a fatherly lecture about how his old students should get along better, and specifically for Konan not to take her anger towards Yahiko out on other people. "Alright then...who do we send on this mission with them...?"

"I request Deidara," Konan asked, turning up to Jiraiya. "He's apart of the Intelligence Division anyway, under my jurisdiction, and he's proven himself time and time again as a reliable soldier under my command." Jiraiya nodded in agreement with this and quickly looked around the table for disapproval. When nobody spoke, Jiraiya nodded to Konan. "I would also like to bring along Naruto Uzumaki as well. I think with some help, I could teach him to further tap into his wind style ninjutsu so that he doesn't have to rely on the Rasenshuriken jutsu. Also, his destructive capabilities, combined with his naturally strong chakra and will, could help against an army of any size."

"I'll allow it," Jiraiya said with a smile and a nod. No matter what the vote was, everybody knew Naruto's well-being was Jiraiya's choice in the end, as he was the boy's godfather.

"I'd like to request Obito and Itachi Uchiha accompany us as well on this mission," Yahiko said. "Itachi is potentially one of the most skilled shinobi in Akatsuki outside of those within this room in all fields of combat. Obito is also good for support, and when he gets serious, his fire style can be devastating." Yahiko looked around, making sure nobody opposed his suggestion. For once, he had gotten his way during the meeting, and flashed an appreciative smile. Yahiko looked down, knowing what he was about to say would likely get shot down. "I would also like to request Kiriya to join us as well."

"Absolutely not," Konan snapped, her anger flaring up again. "Not with Naruto in this unit!"

"Listen, I know it may be stupid, but he's skilled at infiltration and assassination. If we even get within a mile of Yomi, Kiriya can take him out." Yahiko stood up slowly and looked at Konan, eyes softened a bit. "I promise there's no secrets this time. No ulterior motive behind me bringing him besides his usefulness towards the mission."

"We don't really have time to argue this," Tsunade stated. She looked at Yahiko, eyes hardened, "If you can keep that assassin of yours on a leash, then I'll agree to it."

"I promise he'll listen to my orders," Yahiko affirmed. If nothing else, Kiriya would surely listen to him on the mission. Also, with Yahiko there, he wouldn't allow Kiriya to go off to act on his own agenda as he had sometimes been known to.

"I trust Yahiko wouldn't make the same mistake twice," Nagato said, looking down at his hands when Konan shot a glare at him. The redhead knew full well he was digging himself a deep grave with his friend, but he had always tried to be the unbiased one when the two of them fought.

Jiraiya took a deep breath through his nose before letting it out and turning to Yahiko. "If the same thing happens again between your boy and Naruto...there's going to be a much harsher punishment than last time."

"I understand Master Jiraiya," Yahiko replied, bowing his head gratefully. He knew Jiraiya meant every word he said. While Yahiko felt that the leaders of Akatsuki babied Naruto far too much, he knew better than to cross the line where Jiraiya would intervene.

Konan had the urge to walk out of the meeting in outrage now that they had allowed Kiriya on the mission. She glared at Yahiko before the other leaders stood up from their chairs.

"We'll have your team assembled in the entrance within the hour," Jiraiya said as he followed Nagato and Tsunade out of the room. As the door closed, Konan stared solely at Yahiko. The orange haired rogue sighed before looking back at Konan.

"Look, this isn't to spite you in any way..."

"Then why the hell does it feel like you're just trying to piss me off," Konan asked angrily.

"I genuinely believe Kiriya could be beneficial this mission. And I wanted to come with you to...hopefully fix a few things between us." Konan glared at him, though her heart sank a little. It wasn't a secret that their relationship had been crumbling since the whole incident after the Land of Snow. "At least give me that chance...I promise I'm the only one who will be dealing with Kiriya..."

"That's what I'm worried about," Konan muttered. She looked up at Yahiko and sighed before holding up her finger. "One chance is all you get. If there's some other secret mission or ulterior motive to hurt Naruto I-,"

"I know how much he means to you and Jiraiya...I...I only had his interests in mi-,"

"Don't," Konan cut him off, having heard all his excuses before. She didn't want to hear anymore of Yahiko's bull before she headed to the door. "I'll be...less abrasive for the mission. Then we'll see where we're at afterwards." Yahiko nodded as Konan left the room, closing the door behind her. A smile came across Yahiko's face as he was hopefully give another, fair, second chance with Konan, that he didn't intend to waste.

* * *

In a rocky area, far west from the Land of Earth, Kin sighed as she was followed by Orochimaru's Serpent Five through the Land of Swamps. Below the rocky hill that the six just climbed, was a nasty, foul smelling swamp that Kin couldn't have been happier to get out of.

"Ugh, next time I do something like this, remind me to kill myself," Kin told herself.

"Do not complain about a mission from Lord Orochimaru," Kimimaro said, scolding Kin. "You should be grateful he trusts you with a mission that he hides from that old Hokage."

Kin huffed with an amused smirk on her face, "Oh you have no idea the secrets Orochimaru keeps from Danzo, little man." Kimimaro huffed back at Kin, ignoring her comment as she took the lead. The pale young man didn't like the fact that Orochimaru put Kin in charge of this mission, but he went along with it anyway to please his master.

Behind Kimimaro, the rest of the Serpent Five secretly enjoyed the fact that Kimimaro was put in his place by a girl younger than him. Kin got to the top of the hill and surveyed the area closely. She then knelt down and pulled her backpack off and set it on the ground.

"I don't understand this process at all," Kidomaru said, whispering towards Tayuya. "I thought the Hero Water was supposed to kill living things faster..."

"Kin and Lord Orochimaru worked on the properties of the Hero Water and compared it to previous notes of other cases of life giving water," the redhead stated, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the black haired girl. "I guess they were relatively successful if they're going to try it out here..."

Kin pulled out an odd device that looked like an oversized compass with numbers on them. She made a face as she stared at the meter going back and forth wildly. "Damn," Kin muttered as she stood up. "This area has too much Dark Chakra in the air for me to perform my experiment..."

"Shit, are we gonna die from exposure to it," Jirobo questioned, tensing up as he looked at his hands.

Kin rolled her eyes, along with Tayuya and Sakon as well, "No idiot. Dark Chakra exposure is only dangerous for prolonged periods of time. Besides, it's faint here, not enough to affect us, but the Hero Water Orochimaru and I tampered with is extremely sensitive you see. Exposure to Dark Chakra might tamper with it in a manner we don't want." Kin bagged up her meter and looked around, "Though this does seem like a good area to study the land some more...you five, keep watch." Everyone except Kimimaro nodded, but all five of them fanned out from the location while Kin pulled out some other mechanical pieces of equipment.

Kin stabbed a series of stakes into the ground, and connected them with a wire. She placed a small device on one stake, which then popped up a digital number. "Hm...Dark Chakra is in the air, but the land itself is...greatly unaffected...most curious." Kin then unraveled a scroll across the ground and clapped her hands together. The various seals all across the scroll then produced eight bound, unconscious bodies that Kin brought with her. Kin stared at the nameless men and women laid out before her, smirking coldly as she readied the experiment. "Orochimaru gave me permission to use this jutsu anyway." She then unrolled a kit full of vials of blood. Kin walked around, pouring the contents of one vial out on a person, then pouring another vial on the second, and so on until the eight bodies were covered with eight different sources of blood. Kin then cast a series of hand signs with rapid movement before clapping her hands together, "Edo Tensei..."

The earth came up from around the bodies, still unconscious, and formed around the sacrifices, encasing them in earth and taking separate forms. As the earth began to settle around the bodies, take shape and add color, the eight new individuals were finally formed.

Kin smiled over at two individuals in particular before walking over to them with the talismans Orochimaru gave her. One by one, she implanted them in each individual's head before activating them, bringing the undead summons to life, so to speak.

The eight shinobi all seemed startled by silence and life as they looked around in awe. "W...where are we?"

"I thought I was..."

Kin stepped forward, smiling that the Edo Tensei worked for her, and that the minor traces of Dark Chakra had no ill effects. "Welcome back to the land of the living ladies and gentlemen." All heads turned to Kin, just noticing her for the first time. The black haired girl smiled and turned to one figure in particular who scowled at her. "Sorry about how things ended last time Suien, but well, business is business, and Orochimaru doesn't like traitors."

"You evil bitch," Suien snapped, "You brought us back with the Edo Tensei?!" Everyone seemed astonished by the name of the jutsu Suien spoke of. Kin shrugged carelessly and looked around at the rest of her soldiers.

"So, we have Suien the spineless, Shibuki, the hero, leader, and destroyer of Takigakure..." The, revived young man scowled bitterly, mostly at himself, as Kin's words were like a dagger to his heart. Suien stared at Shibuki silently, never having seen his former apprentice during the whole war against his old village. "Kandachi, Hisame, Kirisame, Murasame, all of Amegakure..."

"You dare bring me back to life with this foul ninjutsu," Kandachi snapped. "I'm Lord Hanzo's second in command, and if you think-,"

"You're also now disgraced as one of the most incompetent leaders in Alliance history," Kin interjected, silencing Kandachi due to pure shock. The Salamander's former right hand fell silent as he stared at the ground in disbelief. Kin sneered sadistically, feeling no remorse on inflicting such a personal blow to her new, undead slaves, "The least you can do is be of some use to Orochimaru now as a sacrifice in the Edo Tensei. Be happy that your...fairly limited abilities warranted enough to at least be an experiment for us." Kin's smile widened and then went to the the remaining two shinobi, both from different villages. "Gari of the Explosions Corps in Iwagakure, and Pakura of the Scorch Style kekkei genkai from Sunagakure. I must admit, Lord Orochimaru gave me quite the lineup for a simple experiment." Kin shook her head and shrugged, "But, I guess when the price is so high, Orochimaru wouldn't want to leave anything to chance."

"What exactly are we doing, where are we," Gari asked, looking around the immediate area.

"We're in the Land of Swamps, far beyond the borders of the Alliance," Kin explained. "There's a mission of the utmost importance to our cause, and...well let's just say it's in our best interest to find out what's going on." Suien and Shibuki both had tried struggling against the Edo Tensei, but they did so in vain, unable to break free from their bonds. "Now this'll be a fun little trip. For the time being though..." Kin wiped the eight sacrifices of their personalities before placing them back in empty coffins to use them at a later moment in time. Kin chuckled before whistling loudly, calling the Serpent Five back to her before moving forward, towards the location where Moryo's body was sealed.

* * *

In the Land of Demons, a group of men wearing black clothes, led by a group of four others wearing white robes led an assault on an ancient shrine, filled with armed soldiers. Alongside them, three other shinobi wearing wearing white vests, with similar long, spiky hair of different colors, smiling as they rampaged through the shrine, killing anyone who stood in their way.

The four in the white robes lingered back for a moment while the subordinates and the other three killed the grunts in the shrine. The four turned their heads and bowed to a dark figure in a black coat and grey attire as he walked in. The man didn't stop to acknowledge his subordinates as he continued though, passing the lines of corpses and blood on his way.

A few subordinates stood on either side of a massive, blown open doorway, allowing their master and superiors inside as they bowed down on one knee. Inside, the three odd shinobi out were waiting, with an orange haired man holding the face of a soldier before he turned to stone. The orange haired man smirked before using his fist to smash the statue into pieces before he and his two partners looked up at the dark man.

The man reached into his coat and pulled out a wad of paper bills and tossed them to the brute-ish man to the right. "Half now, the other half when the job is finished," the dark man spoke.

"As you wish Yomi," the orange haired man said before stepping out of his way with his comrades.

"Only I may continue through here," Yomi said. "The dark powers of the underworld lie ahead, and only I who bear the name Yomi may be allowed forward." The dark man then stepped down the steps, descending into further darkness until he approached the a singular stone monument surrounded by stone pillars, with a seal above the monument, shining down light upon the monument. As Yomi walked towards it, there were thousands of stone rocks to both his left and right.

"Jutsu ceremony, COMMENCE!" The ground shook under Yomi's feet as he extended his palm towards the doors, held together by sealing tags. The dark man began chanting loudly, his eyes widening as he felt power surging through his arm. When he finished his chant, a dark power shot out from his palm and onto the door, burning the seals in purple flames. The door began to crack and crumble before exploding outward, the inside blowing out from pressure as dark tendrils shot past Yomi, who covered his face.

"_Ahhhh, how nostalgic,"_ a dark voice echoed loudly from within the shrine. _"So I have finally returned to this world..."_

Yomi smiled and then knelt down before the dark mass, "After such a long time...Lord Moryo..."

"_And you are...?"_

Yomi didn't show any signs of shock, but merely questioned the demonic entity, "Have you forgotten...? I am Yomi."

"_Yomi..."_ the voice murmured softly.

"I am a survivor from a clan of shinobi that used your dark powers to create the Ghost Army..."

"_Why have you summoned me...?"_

"The stars are aligning," Yomi explained eagerly, "It is time for us to join forces, and create the Thousand Year Kingdom!"

The spirit remained silent for a few moments before speaking again, _"Where is my physical form? Without it, my spirit will scatter to the winds if I attempt to leave beyond this shrine..."_

"Please," Yomi begged as he stood up, "Use my body as your avatar. With my dark medical arts," Yomi pulled open the two sides of his jacket open, showing various medical tools. "I will take hold of your spirit, and transfer it to the confines of my body." The man undid his shirt as he pulled out a scalpel and a pair of tweezers. Yomi stabbed himself in his upper chest, and then tore downward. He took two hook like objects and then pulled his body open, revealing a mass of Dark Chakra, like the mass within the shrine. "Now come, enter my body!"

"_Very well,"_ Moryo murmured as he shot out of the shrine and forcefully pushed himself within Yomi's body. After managing to brace himself on the ground, once the demon was inside of him, Yomi quickly sealed his wound up with medical ninjutsu, finishing his binding with Moryo.

Yomi smiled anxiously as he felt the power flowing through his body, "Ceremony complete." Yomi began to cackle loudly as he threw his hands up into the air as a powerful blast of Dark Chakra throughout the chamber. "Arise! MY ARMY!" The temple began to shake under the power Yomi unleashed, and the thousands of rocks on the ground began to quake and crumble, but revealed another form underneath it. The rocks then took the shapes of thousands of stone warriors, that all developed glowing green eyes. "On your feet," Yomi commanded with a wave of his hand. The stone warriors came to life, readying their weapons in their hands as Yomi stepped back towards the entrance, smiling with pleasure. "Let us embark, on to the place where our master's body rests!"

"_No...there is an enemy that we must vanquish first,"_ Moryo stated. _"Seek out the High Priestess in the Land of Demons. She is the only one with the power to reseal me. She must be eliminated."_

"Understood my lord," Yomi replied.

"_Good. Once I have been reunited with my body, I will annihilate the Five Great Nations, and establish a singular kingdom, to rule the world..."_

* * *

After a full day of traveling, when night fell, the Akatsuki team decided to set up camp and start moving immediately the next morning. Thankfully, due to their fast paced moving, the group managed to get halfway through the Land of Waterfalls, which was mostly vacant with the exception of a few, mildly populated villages.

Naruto hated every second of the mission, as oppose to his usual joy and love for being out of the hideout. The main reason for hating the mission was that he was stuck to be on the same team as two of his least favorite members of Akatsuki; Yahiko and Kiriya.

Although Konan explained that, while admitting it was a bit selfish, Yahiko being apart of the mission was to help them fix their relationship, and having Kiriya along was to show that she still had some trust and faith in Yahiko. Naruto, out of his respect and love for the blue haired woman he viewed as an older sister, begrudgingly stayed quiet about the whole ordeal and went along with it.

Thankfully, Naruto had Deidara and Obito, along with the occasional Itachi, to socialize and interact with instead of dealing with Yahiko or Kiriya. Naruto sat with Deidara as he tried to explain to Obito the principles of art, which the spiky haired Uchiha wasn't really grasping. The blonde smiled at Deidara's aggravation before looking out at the rest of the camp. Itachi was keeping watch, Yahiko and Konan were talking instead of arguing it seemed for once, and the silver haired assassin was sitting on his own.

Naruto turned his head back to Deidara, attempting to change the subject before Obito got a fist to the face. "So, do either of you know what's the big deal with this Dark Chakra stuff?" Both the senior shinobi turned to the blonde with shocked looks. Deidara looked to Obito, who kept looking at Naruto.

"Well...Dark Chakra is a weird thing..."

"I gathered that," Naruto replied with a snarky tone as he rolled his eyes. He asked Obito, because even though the Uchiha was a bit slow, he could explain it in terms that Naruto would at least understand. "But what make it so special that we immediately haul butt after someone who uses it?"

Obito sighed, sitting cross legged with his arms folded over his chest as he grew a thoughtful look on his face. Naruto raised a questioning brow before looking up at Deidara who shrugged. "Well...Dark Chakra is essentially the manifestation of pure evil to put it simply..." Obito opened his eyes and looked between the two blondes. "Dark Chakra is negative thoughts, feelings, emotions, actions, all condensed and built over what usually takes centuries. The legends for those who believe in a creature like the Ten Tails is that it was the original source of all Dark Chakra, as it was a being of pure raw, killing power. And as such, its power still lingers here in the world today."

"So, it's just a bunch of bad vibes floating around in the air," Deidara asked, stifling a laugh. Naruto gave Deidara a quick glance, slightly shocked that even Deidara, with all his knowledge that was well beyond his years, didn't know what Dark Chakra was either.

Obito groaned a bit as he rubbed his head, "It's...difficult to explain really. Okay, let's say there's truly an evil person in the world, whose only purpose for doing said evil acts is because...well, they're sadistic evil people."

"Like Danzo," Naruto said sarcastically, using the Akatsuki's mortal enemy as an example.

"Well, kind of...Dark Chakra are purely negative emotions, like hate, anger, sadness, and so on. Danzo...really doesn't have a lot of those. He believes he's leading a crusade to bring the world to peace. He doesn't do it out of spite, or vengeance, and he only uses power because he knows it'll lead him to his eventual goal which is world domination. So, he's not much of an example."

Naruto huffed bitterly, mentally disagreeing with Obito, but stayed silent. Deidara turned to his senior shinobi, "So then Dark Chakra manifests in evil feelings or actions right? There are plenty of sadistic freaks in the world, how come Dark Chakra isn't more well known about?"

"Well Dark Chakra takes up some time to build...mass genocides being one specific example of how you can get a bit of Dark Chakra. It's a very rare element to be honest..."

"You're really bad at explaining this ya know," Naruto stated. Obito laughed, a bit embarrassed, in agreement with the spiky haired blonde.

"Well, all you need to know is that Dark Chakra is evil, rare, and extremely dangerous in the wrong hands...which is why we've been sent to stop this Yomi guy from reviving his demon buddy hopefully." Obito's face grew a bit more somber before he shrugged, "Honestly, pure Dark Chakra is something that's unheard of. That's why it's so difficult to explain exactly what Dark Chakra is."

"So, it's an artificial thing," Deidara questioned while playing with a wad of clay in his hand.

"Realistically, yeah. But people theorize that Dark Chakra came from an original source, which is what most of the 'artificial' Dark Chakra has to be based on. Like I said, some people think it came from the Ten Tails, for those who believe legends like that." Naruto nodded firmly, turning his attention slowly back to Yahiko and Konan, leaving Deidara and Obito to continue discussing Dark Chakra themselves. The young boy would never admit it, but he was worried about her whether or not her relationship with Yahiko could be salvaged.

The couple laughed softly together, causing Naruto to stick out his lower lip in a skeptical pout. Though he wanted whatever would make Konan happiest, a bitter part of him really didn't want her to get back with Yahiko.

While staring at the two though, Naruto couldn't help but feel envious as Konan rested her head on Yahiko's shoulder. The blonde thought of a certain pink haired girl before looking up at the starry night sky, and wished that he could share a moment like that with Sakura.

* * *

Sakura sneezed just as the team entered Iwagakure. Rin, being closest to Sakura, turned her head with a quizzical look, "Are you catching a cold now?"

"No," Sakura said rubbing her finger beneath her nose. "It was colder at the shores anyway..."

"Then maybe some stud is talkin' about you," Anko joked, standing on the other side of Sakura. The pink haired girl blushed a bit and scowled at her sensei. Having gone so long without being on the same team as Anko, Sakura forgot how haughty she could be.

Thanks to sticking to the paths, and taking a few shortcuts through the Land of Earth, the team managed to get to Iwagakure within a day and a half's time. The whole group voted on taking a rest in Iwagakure, instead of in tents, and then continue to the Land of Swamps in the morning. Somehow, the Tsuchikage caught wind of their stopping in Iwagakure, and decided to give them the nicest lodgings the village could spare.

Sakura had to admit that it was a nicer welcome than the last time she was Iwagakure, and she hoped this time she could leave the village without any trouble caused.

The lodgings were very large, especially for only two people per room, and for it being less than a full night. Zaku and Dosu shared a room next to Anko and Rin's, and across the hall was Kurotsuchi and Fu's room next to Sakura and Higure's.

Higure wasted no time before falling into the bed face-first and relaxing. Sakura rolled her eyes at her uncle's laziness before sitting on the bed across the room. "You act as though you haven't walked in ages."

"I haven't," Higure said in muffled reply to his pillow. He sat up and turned to Sakura, his hair a mess and hanging partially in his face. "Do you forget all my physical activity before this was walking around the house and around the village?"

"Oh you seriously can't be that lazy already," Sakura teased with a laugh. Higure pouted before falling back onto his pillow. Sakura smiled before looking over the room again, still not getting over how large it was. "So...what else do you know about the mission, Uncle?"

Higure opened his eyes halfway before sighing a bit and sitting up on the bed. He turned towards Sakura, rubbing the back of his head before he looked at her. "Basically, some crazy guy is trying to revive this demon, and some army along with it, and that poses a threat to blah, blah, blah." Sakura raised her brow and crossed her arms, giving her uncle a look that told him to reconsider his answer. Higure sighed as he removed his headband, placing it on the nightstand. "The biggest issue I think is the fact that there's proof that someone has managed to harness and utilize Dark Chakra effectively..."

"Dark Chakra? What's that?"

Higure smirked a bit at how nice it was to be ignorant to some things in life. "Dark Chakra is the manifestation of anything evil within a person. Evil deeds, actions, thought, they build up over time and manifest into a malicious, evil form of energy that influences and increases those evil actions the more it's used." Higure looked up at Sakura for a moment, seeing her face that she usually wore when she processed new information. "It's like a drug to be honest. It increases your power exponentially, but at a terrible cost. Too much reliance on Dark Chakra will leave you addicted to it, and without its power you won't be able to survive. It will also affect your personality and mind, making you into some sort of monster who just enjoys to do whatever malicious thought comes to mind until you're even less mentally inclined than some beast."

"So...you trade your humanity for power...?" Higure nodded, eyes down at the ground as silence hung in the air. Sakura couldn't imagine trading her feelings for some mad, constant bloodlust all just to be stronger.

"There are many people who would gladly give up their humanity for the power Dark Chakra can offer them..." Higure looked up at Sakura for a moment before moving his gaze up to the ceiling. "Never underestimate the drive some people possess for power..." The Commander yawned loudly and then flopped backwards onto the bed, stretching out his arms and legs. "BUT! Enough of that for tonight I think. We should get plenty of rest for tomorrow's journey..."

Sakura huffed with a small smirk at this before simply nodding. "I guess you're right..."

"Goodnight Sakura," Higure said with a yawn. Sakura got under the covers of her bed and lied down, his mind restless but her body tired.

"Goodnight Uncle..." Sakura sighed and then closed her eyes, hoping that her mind would let her sleep after awhile. She wished that sometimes she could be as relaxed as her uncle on issues like this. She honestly wondered if the man ever stressed about anything in his life.

* * *

In the Land of Demons, a group of six stood before the burning shrine that formerly housed Moryo's spirit. One member of the group, with white, shoulder length hair and wearing a robe similar to the rest of the part, knelt down and observed the ground carefully.

"Well...it looks like a large group hit the temple..."

"We can see that Mangetsu," the tallest man, Kushimaru, replied. "The question is, was it the Alliance, or Yomi?" The other masked man, who stood in the center of the group with his hood up over his head unlike the rest, stood in silence. "What do you think Madara?"

The second masked man pulled off his mask, his hood staying over his head. A few of the others, Mangetsu especially, were surprised by the act, having never seen their leader's face before. Despite this though, the hood did a rather successful job of hiding the man's face from sight. After a few seconds of his arm by his side, Madara turned his head to the right and put his mask back on.

"It was Yomi's group...they split up into two groups." Madara pointed in one direction with his gloved hand, "One went east, and the other went more northeast."

"The question is why," Jinin asked.

"One group deals with the High Priestess to ensure she can't reseal Moryo's spirit, while the other heads to the Land of Swamps in order to reunite the spirit with its original body."

"Then do we split up as well boss," Mangetsu asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Madara shook his head and headed directly east.

"The Priestess doesn't concern our motives. Shinno requires the Dark Chakra in order to complete my wish, and Moryo is a being of pure Dark Chakra and malice. Its spirit should be more than enough for us to cipher off for the old fool." As the masked man took the lead, the five swordsmen followed behind him.

Mangetsu crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the back of their leader's head before leaning towards Ameyuri. "Hey, how is it that the boss man always knows what to do and where to go?" The kunoichi looked up at the taller boy with a raised brow and questioning gaze. Mangetsu ignored the stare and continued. "I mean...there's no way he can actually know _everything_, right?"

"I don't know. I just follow the orders given to me. The only ones who know much about him are Kisame and Kushimaru, and their predecessors as well as ours before them."

"So, do we even know what his goal is," Mangetsu questioned suspiciously. "Or even why he needs this Dark Chakra stuff...?"

"I don't question the need," Ameyuri stated firmly. Mangetsu turned to the kunoichi in a bit of surprise, as her gaze was kept firmly forward on their leader. "He saved my life, and as such, my life is his to do with what he pleases. I don't question, doubt, or judge him or his motives. I have no room, nor say for that kind of nonsense." The kunoichi turned her attention upward towards Mangetsu, frowning slightly. "You're one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and as such you should act like one and follow your leader."

"Enough, Ameyuri." Both Mangetsu and the short redhead turned towards Kushimaru, who was only ahead of them by a few steps. "If Mangetsu wishes to know so much, all he must do is ask Madara himself." Mangetsu looked forward at Madara, who kept walking forward. Somehow, even with his back turned, Mangetsu felt their leader's cold, blazing red Sharingan as if it was burning holes through him.

"Eh...n-not right now," Mangetsu replied with a shrug. "Don't want to distract myself from the mission." As he said this, Mangetsu felt a huge weight off his shoulders, as though Madara's killing intent had gone down. The young swordsmen shook it off as paranoia, knowing that even though he very easily could, Madara wouldn't kill him without justifiable reason, like Fuguki. The young master swordsmen turned back to Ameyuri, who mentally rolled her eyes. "So, how did he save your life exactly? I don't really see Madara being the type to go out of his way to save someone..."

Ameyuri sighed before her eyes fell upon the man who saved her life again. As they walked, the memories came flooding back to her all at once. "You really question too many things Mangetsu..."

* * *

_Ameyuri watched as the older man was on his knees before her, pleading as rain fell down upon them. Around the two were at least a dozen dead bodies of Iwagakure Jonin, none of which were allies to either of them. The man, Raiga Kurosuki, had asked to become the young girl's apprentice, an act which was truly odd in her mind._

"_Please...I swear I will not disappoint you Master Ringo! Please, just let me find some meaning in my life!" Ameyuri narrowed her eyes on Raiga, having half a mind to kill him for his pathetic display. However, she thought far in advance, knowing that her time was limited unless the Kirigakure medical teams could find a cure for her disease._

"_If you really want to find meaning in life, then fine," Ameyuri finally answered. Raiga gasped as he looked up at the shorter girl. Ameyuri held her swords in front of her, showing them to Raiga. "If you want a purpose in life, then your purpose will be to surpass me one day, and kill me in order to take these blades from my dead, lifeless body, and continue on the legacy of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Do not expect me to be your friend, or your ally! We are enemies, but I will oversee your training nonetheless, until the day comes when you can kill me, Raiga Kurosuki!"_

_Weeks had passed, and while the man showed considerable eagerness to serve, his skills with the Kiba blades were developing at a much slower rate than Ameyuri's. Due to her young initiation into the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Ameyuri was undoubtedly skilled, but still had room to improve, and she did so each day. She was a prodigy, second only to the newly inducted Mangetsu Hozuki, who proved to be a master of all seven blades, something which had been unheard of since the Third Mizukage, Saizo Hideyoshi._

_Every day when Ameyuri trained Raiga, one of the other swordsmen would watch, out of sheer curiosity, and most of them would taunt, mock, or tease both Ameyuri and Raiga. The only exceptions seemed to be Kushimaru, who only watched once in pure silence before telling Ameyuri that Raiga would never be a suitable replacement to her, and Fuguki, who could care less about Raiga's development. Jinin chastised Raiga for being weak, and told Ameyuri she should focus more on her duties, rather than finding a replacement so early. Jinpachi insulted both of them, saying he would sooner kill Raiga then let him join, and verbally considered doing the same to Ameyuri to put her out of her misery. Mangetsu was young, and nobody told him about Ameyuri's sickness, but he remained obnoxious and rude to both Ameyuri, but especially to Raiga. Zabuza continually watched at least once a week during their training sessions, often saying nothing but negative comments towards Raiga's growth. He would also tell Ameyuri the same thing that the others told her, which was not to waste time with Raiga, as he showed very little potential._

_The criticisms and insults got the better of Ameyuri, as she forced Raiga to learn faster, and push him harder. His ninja skills improved greatly under her, helping him even achieve the rank of ANBU in Kirigakure, but still his swordsmanship lacked greatly. He had no problem using the power the Kiba blades granted, but when using the swords themselves to kill or defend himself, it was like giving a katana to a five year old. For someone to truly surpass Ameyuri, they had to use the blades and their specialized powers in harmony, as Ameyuri did. It frustrated her when Raiga couldn't utilize both abilities, which often resulted in Ameyuri severely abusing Raiga, physically and mentally._

_For months, all Raiga heard was criticisms towards him, and the word 'replacement' became a common thing. He learned of Ameyuri's sickness, and realized why she chose him to begin with. He knew however, that he would not be strong enough to kill Ameyuri, even on her sickest day._

_Ameyuri had become busy with treatments and missions when she had free time, having almost completely abandoned Raiga altogether. One day, she received a mission to find and kill a young boy who bore an unusual kekkei genkai, which brought the village fear of the young child._

_Ameyuri arrived at the place where the child was supposed to be, but found only an empty cot. The swords woman scowled and looked around, seeing no footprints or any trail to go off of to find the brat._

_She heard a dull thunk before turning towards one of the wooden walls before it exploded, throwing her backwards through the opposite wall, and sent her bouncing and rolling through the snow. Ameyuri groaned before her chest felt constricted and her limbs tensed up in pain. She shuddered and coughed painfully, hacking up blood with each cough, coloring the snow red._

"_Well, that seems to have worked," a voice said. Ameyuri slowly turned her head up, seeing a cloaked, hooded figure staring down at her. He recognized him immediately and scowled._

"_R...ai...ga..." Ameyuri began coughing harder, coloring more snow red as she collapsed upon it._

"_You know, I came to you trying to find a purpose in my life," Raiga stated as he knelt down, picking up one of the Kiba swords. Ameyuri scowled furiously as she saw her blade lifted out of the snow by Raiga's hand. "Instead, you and everyone else in the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist made me steadily hate it more and more. When I kill, my heart cries for my victims. But when I thought of killing you..." Raiga picked up the other sword before standing up over Ameyuri, gazing down at her with a look of pity and hatred. "Seeing you die at my feet now...I feel nothing for you..."_

"_B...bastard...c-coward..." Ameyuri coughed, unable to get out more than one word as her head, body, and eyelids felt heavy and darkness started to cloud her vision._

"_I'll leave you to rot away in the snow, slowly," Raiga stated. "And I will work towards killing the rest of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist to taste my revenge. And I'll do it, with these very swords." Raiga held up the Kiba blades, causing more anger to course through Ameyuri's body. As she began to cough from stress and pain from her body, Raiga lowered his arms, and his new blades before glaring down at his former master. "Goodbye, Ameyuri." Raiga then turned around and disappeared through the fire and into the forest._

_Ameyuri groaned weakly, blood trickling out of her mouth as her eyes fell shut and darkness overtook her. Hatred and anger coursed through her body, more than the blood that rushed through her veins. She hated Raiga more than any other target, more than any other prey she had hunted before in her life, and couldn't live with the thought that Raiga would get away with his betrayal. She tried to force her body to move, but with the explosion, blood loss, and illness overtaking her body, Ameyuri felt life slowly fading from her body. Darkness overtook her vision, though her eyes were wide with rage. She knew death was about to consume her, but fought it with all of her being until her last moments._

"_Not like this," a dark voice said. Ameyuri questioned the unfamiliar voice as she felt life restoring into her body. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing a masked man standing over her, wearing a hood over his head, and a single dark hole for one eye staring down at her. "Ameyuri Ringo...you're much to valuable for me to let you die like a sickened dog..."_

"_Who...?"_

"_Question me not, child, I will heal you." Ameyuri felt as though she were sucked into a tornado, before just as quickly being spat back out on what she felt was a table. The masked man lowered his hood, revealing long, spiky black hair. He placed a mask over Ameyuri's mouth, which made her drowsy. "When you wake up, you'll be alive again..."_

* * *

Mangetsu remained silent as Ameyuri finished the story. The kunoichi spoke first, "I don't question why he saved me, beyond my use as a tool for his overall plan. I don't even question why he waited until I was dying before he saved me. Perhaps he thought the same thing I did, and that Raiga had the potential to surpass me."

"But there's no way that he could have," Mangetsu replied sternly. "We all saw it, nobody besides you felt that Raiga could live up to your potential."

"Raiga Kurosuki's mind was distracted and clouded with questions. What is my purpose in life? Why do we live life only to take others? These were questions Raiga confided into me, and I told him to block out meaningless questions. Had his mind been clearer, or had I been able to clear his head, Raiga could have excelled at using the Kiba blades far beyond what I could have reached by the end of my natural life. I'm sure Madara saw it as well...and that's why he waited."

"In the end, he proved to be skilled with the blade's natural power," Madara spoke, catching the attention of the swordsmen around him. "But his ability to kill in cold blood, slaughter countless people, and to use the blades to their fullest potential, is something Raiga Kurosuki lacked until he went rogue." Madara turned his head, his Sharingan staring at Mangetsu. "If you wish to survive, Mangetsu, I suggest you clear your mind of questions. Lest I suspect you of doing what Kurosuki did."

Mangetsu felt a shiver of fear before nodding to Madara, "Yes sir, my lord. M-my apologies." Madara turned his head back around and continued forward, leading the group in silence.

* * *

Kin and the Serpent Five stood before the shrine that housed Moryo's body, which happened to be within a dormant, volcanic mountain. The group observed the shrine closely, seeing no obvious signs of a giant demonic body of any sort. Despite this though, a few of them felt uncomfortable being so close to so much lava, and began sweating a bit.

"Alright then," Kin muttered to herself as she pulled out the odd meter from before. She turned it on, and was surprised when she read there was no Dark Chakra in the immediate area. "Well okay then. This will be the perfect place for a base of operations..."

"How can there be no Dark Chakra in this place," Sakon questioned. "It feels dark, and it houses the body of a demon somewhere."

"Most likely the Shrine Seal placed on this area prevents any Dark Chakra from coming in and making Moryo's body stronger," Tayuya guessed.

"I want you all to scout the area out," Kin ordered as she unrolled a map of the Land of Swamps. "Set up traps and a perimeter, keep anyone and everyone out of this shrine until I'm finished with my experiments for Orochimaru."

The Serpents nodded and then headed out of the cave. Kin went over her list of Edo Tensei soldiers, wondering if any of them would be helpful for setting up traps. She shrugged before focusing more on her studies, deciding to leave the hard work to the Serpents.

Kin held up a vial of an odd, white substance that seemed to be alive as it moved around in the glass tube. The black haired woman held the vial closer to her face and smiled with appreciation as the substance inside the vial were thousands of tiny white snakes. Kin pulled out another vial of the modified Hero Water and opened it. Holding the vial out, Kin bit her finger open, dropping in a single bit of her blood into the Hero Water before opening up the vial of snakes and then dumping them into the red Hero Water.

After dumping the last of the snakes into the vial, the tube of Hero Water eventually busted open as the snakes multiplied at an astronomical rate, forming a giant ball before taking on shape and more defined features. Kin grinned, eyes wide with glee as the snakes took on a unified, physical shape in the exact replica of Kin herself. Though the copy was much paler than the original, as well as lacking clothes, and black eyes, it was exactly like Kin in terms of facial features, hair, and even body structure.

"Perfect...absolutely perfect! Lord Orochimaru will most definitely be pleased with this," Kin stated. She pulled out a kunai with a seal tag on it and then pushed it into the copy's head. The copy's eyes grew with black sclera and white irids as it seemingly came to life. "Now, I'll just keep you close by until further tests are needed." Kin reached into her side pouch, pulling out a handful of seeds. "Orochimaru doesn't wish for this mission to fail...he's really pulling out all the stops to ensure our objective proceeds as he wants."

Kin knelt down and found a soft patch of dirt before scooping out a hole. She planted the seeds within the dirt and covered them up, getting another vial of modified Hero Water before dripping a few droplets onto it. She stepped back and watched as nearly a dozen, wooden copies of the same man came out of the ground. Kin snickered to herself, her head spinning a bit at how much power Orochimaru allowed her to have on this mission.

After the Yamato clones formed, they all turned to Kin, recognizing her as their master and kneeled before her. Kin ignored the gesture before turning and kneeling down at the map of the Land of Swamps, drawing out their current location with a pencil.

"Let's see...if I set up a perimeter of a few miles...have the first line of defense out here...then the Edo Tensei sacrifices, and whatever clones I can make with experimental clone snakes Orochimaru developed...and then the Serpent Five as the next line of defense around the mountain itself..." Kin giggled to herself, unable to contain her excitement. Her eyes widened with glee before she turned to the Yamato clones. "Head out at least ten miles from the mountain, and form a solid perimeter! Walls, traps, defenses, I don't care, just make sure it can stall and keep enemies out! But first..." Kin turned to the clone of herself before pulling out of her backpack, a kit that held many more vials of the clone snakes. "Now..." Kin approached each of the Yamato clones and performed a one handed seal sign. Each Yamato clone then opened their mouths, and Kin poured one vial of clones down each of their mouths. "The Hero Water will be help keep the snakes alive inside of your bodies hopefully," Kin said as she poured more snakes into the wooden clones. "Whenever your bodies are dead, or rendered useless, the snakes should take the opportunity to absorbed the Hero Water from your bodies, and increase at a rapid rate before latching onto whomever killed you. Then, they should become an exact copy of whoever that person may be. Now go!"

The Yamato clones turned and exited the cave, leaving Kin alone with her copy. The young woman grinned maliciously, realizing that her chances of success were beyond what she expected, feeling in complete control of the entire mission, and becoming so much closer to accomplish Orochimaru's plans successfully.

* * *

The Akatsuki team had woken up at the crack of dawn, and wasted no time in running across as much land as they could. Yahiko believed that they could get just past Iwagakure before nightfall, should they manage to avoid any complications. Their timing was nearly cut in half when they realized Deidara could take them flying over the rough, rocky terrain of the Land of Earth, and across the sea that separated the Land of Swamps from the Land of Earth with ease.

Naruto sat with Obito and Deidara once again at the lead of the flying trio of clay birds. Itachi and Kiriya sat on the second one, while Yahiko and Konan sat on the third one. Naruto still stayed silent, bitter and hoping that their mission could be over with sooner rather than later for him.

The silence was getting the better of both Obito and Deidara, who looked at one another with the same expression and the same thought. They both turned their heads, seeing Naruto looking off far to the side with a pout on his face.

"Sheesh," Deidara muttered.

"Nothing we can do about it though," Obito replied with a shrug. The young Uchiha turned to Deidara, and realized in all the time they both spent complaining about Naruto acting like a brat, they never really talked much about each other. "So," Obito began, "Um...what do you think of the mission?"

"Well, undoubtedly we'll run into Alliance," Deidara stated firmly.

"What? What makes you think that?"

"We found out about this guy in the Land of Demons, Yomi. The Alliance has more spies than we do, so most likely they've got spies all throughout the countries outside their borders. And if they know even half as much as we do, they would've already sent out a team, or a party to stop it." Deidara looked back over his shoulder at Yahiko and Konan, who smiled and laughed while they talked. "They've gotta know that too...or at least suspected as much."

Obito turned around and nodded before looking back at Deidara. The blonde artist sighed before rubbing the side of his head. "Well," Obito said, hoping to relieve his partner. "That just means we have to be extra careful." Deidara rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, while Obito only smiled kindly. A though occurred to him as he looked up at the sky. "So...do we know what else do we know about the mission? Besides demons and Dark Chakra?"

"Well," Deidara muttered as he began mulling over the quick mission brief that he was given before heading out. "Demonic cults, the Ghost Army we were all told about...I guess the sealing that kept Moryo's body and spirit bound..."

"What kind of seals," Obito asked. He felt as though the Alliance may have sent a bunch of egg-heads on the mission, as it sounded very advanced beyond the simple smash and destroy mission.

"Very advanced seals obviously," Deidara said, "Complex stuff which most sealing jutsus don't even compare to anymore..." Obito's eyes fell softly as a thought occurred to him.

"Uzumaki brand seals?" Hearing his last name caught Naruto's attention, as well as Deidara's. The older blonde stared at Obito with shock, but shrugged truthfully as he wasn't sure. "If they're Uzumaki grade seals used to keep Moryo's body and spirit suppressed...then I think I know who they'd send on this mission..."

"Who then?" Naruto stared at Obito, also curious to the answer of Deidara's question.

"My sensei's old teammate and friend," Obito replied. "Higure Haruno..."

"There's no damn way," Deidara exclaimed. "He's Commander of the First Division! There's no way Danzo would send out one of his Commanders to deal with such a small scale problem!" Obito's eyes narrowed, unconvinced by Deidara's protest. The blonde artist huffed bitterly, thinking Obito was an idiot for even suggesting a Commander would be sent out from their post.

"Higure was one of Minato sensei's closest friends...and as such, they both understood, studied, and learned a variety of high level sealing ninjutsu, due to Kushina's lineage as an Uzumaki." Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit too, skeptically analyzing Obito's words.

"But...mom wasn't a ninja...how could she teach dad or Sakura's uncle ninjutsu?" Obito's eyes widened a bit with surprise as his mind quickly sifted through information before he remembered the sensitive nature of Kushina's history.

"W-well, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she still had scrolls and information on how the ninjutsu worked. And your dad and Higure took that information and well...the rest is history." Obito chuckled nervously under the questioning stare of Naruto. The blonde turned his head away, ignoring the half-ass answer Obito gave him.

The black haired Uchiha sighed before turning to Deidara who also gave him a questioning gaze. Obito gave the artist a stare that told Deidara enough, as they both turned and focused on the horizon ahead.

On the other bird, the silver haired assassin overheard the conversation, and stared intently at Naruto. Kiriya smirked inwardly before turning his head away from the Jinchuriki.

* * *

Kin grew increasingly frustrated at her attempts to break the seal binding Moryo's body to the mountain. She needed a sample of the body in order to resume the experiment, but the Shrine Seal went above and beyond what she and Orochimaru predicted. They expected it being of Uzumaki origin, which it was, but there was even more complexity beyond simply that. She would need an expert on sealing ninjutsu, such as Higure. Kin shook her head, reminding herself that her mission needed to be a secret, and make sure that Danzo wouldn't be aware of Orochimaru's goal.

Another thought came into mind, which Kin knew that she would have to be extremely careful in playing it if she was going to risk helping _that_ man. Still, it was the only way she could foresee herself breaking the seal before the Alliance team arrived on their mission. Kin turned to her clone, eyes narrowed as her mind began devising a new plan.

* * *

Yomi, his gang of four, the three mercenaries, and the large group of shinobi under his command marched towards the Land of Swamps, and had been doing so for days now, nearly the border of the Land of Swamps. The group looked up as they saw a lone figure with long, black hair staring at them. Yomi stopped, followed by the rest of their little army.

Yomi stared at the black haired girl, by herself, standing in the middle of the forest while the sun began to set behind her. Dull, lifeless eyes looked at the possessed Yomi, who stared back at her. "I am Kin Tsuchi. I am a rogue kunoichi who currently has control of the Shrine Seal holding Moryo's body captive."

Yomi narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, "And you're telling me this because...?"

"I believe we can work out a partnership," Kin said through her clone's body. "I went through all the trouble of setting up hundreds of traps and defenses all around the Shrine Seal's perimeter. Now, I can allow you all to pass through easily, and without trouble, or you can make this more difficult on yourselves, and prolong Moryo's revival."

"You think my men are afraid of death," Yomi asked, scowling with narrowed eyes.

"No, but I think your demonic god is," Kin replied with a smirk on her clone's face. Yomi twitched slightly at this while Kin's smirk grew. "You're clearly housing the demon's spirit, in order to transport it to the Shrine Seal. However, how long can your body withstand such power, Yomi? How long until your body gives out, and Moryo's spirit fades and dissipates into nothingness?"

"What do you want then...?"

Kin smiled and nodded with approval, "I'm well aware that undoing the Shrine Seal will take nearly a full day to do, even for an expert like you. I simply require a sample of Moryo's body. So you see, our goals are the same. Not only that, but the Alliance is on its way to stop Moryo's body from being released. With your forces and mine combined into one, we will be able to stop anyone who wishes to see Moryo forever sealed away."

All eyes turned to Yomi, who in the end could make this decision. Within him, Yomi could feel his master Moryo tell him to side with her. Yomi finally nodded to her, "Very well...lead us to Moryo's shrine then, witch." Kin laughed at the nickname before her clone turned around and headed back towards the Shrine Seal, as Yomi and the others followed.

As his four main subordinates flanked either side of Yomi, the dark master murmured to them softly, "Moryo is redirecting the Ghost Army to the shrine where his body is kept. One way or the other, this woman will not survive to see Moryo's revival..."

"But if the Ghost Army is heading towards the shrine, what of the Priestess," the leader of the four, Kusuna asked.

"We have devised a plan for her," Yomi said with a small smile. "Moryo senses that she is alive...and he tells me that she will be of great use to us in the near future..."

* * *

Danzo sat in his office, reviewing what limited information they had on the demon Moryo, and the Ghost Army. His eye scanned the files over and over, trying to find a way to stop Moryo after he was revived, without having to rely on the young Priestess. Danzo also worked his mind to hopefully find a way to possibly use Moryo to his advantage. The Hokage was conflicted about that option however, as Moryo was a being of Dark Chakra, which made it unreliable and would make it even more difficult to master, should there even be a way to control it.

The Hokage was then joined by the two elders, Homaru and Koharu, who entered the room unannounced. "What is it," Danzo asked, not taking his eye off the papers.

"Are you sure it was wise to only send such a small team out to deal with this Moryo threat," Homaru asked, taking a seat on the other side of the Hokage's table.

"Haruno is the best one to deal with sealing," Danzo stated, his eye shifting up to Homaru. "And as such, he'll hopefully be able to understand how the seal works, and strengthen it when the time comes."

"And if he isn't able to," Koharu asked, standing next to Homaru. "What then, Danzo? If Moryo is released, along with this Ghost Army, we'll have to fight a war on two fronts...can the Land of Fire stand such another war like that?"

"What would you have me do then," Danzo asked mockingly. "I've sent one of my Division Commanders out to deal with the problem, along with a company of his choosing."

"Perhaps if we were to somehow use the Ghost Army to our advantage," Homaru suggested. Danzo waved his hand dismissively at the two before looking back at his files.

"I'm already trying to work on that as we speak..." Though Danzo hated to admit it, the information on Moryo was scarce, and he couldn't tell myth from fact either unfortunately. The Hokage never liked being left in the dark on any subject that was a threat to him.

"Perhaps you should call in the aid of a...specialist who tinkers with Dark Chakra," Koharu advised. Danzo's eye shot up at the two elders dangerously, knowing what they implied. The two held their ground, and their gazes respectfully. "Orochimaru knows his boundaries, and as such, he would have undoubtedly have experimented with Dark Chakra in the past."

"Orochimaru also seeks to go far beyond his boundaries," Danzo said, reminding the two of that fact. "This is why I didn't send him on this mission...because I can't fully trust him." The two elders stared at each other before looking back at the Hokage. Danzo also knew, that if Orochimaru was even half as devious as he thought he was, then he would have already devised some backup plan to gain something from the mission. "Iwagakure has offered to keep the enemy at bay, should the Ghost Army arrive to their borders. If that happens, I'll send the Fifth Division to support them, as well as any reserve ninja we have on hand. Your worries are pointless, councilors." The elders scowled softly, upset that they were completely ignored. They both knew pressing the issue was pointless, and stood up to leave the Hokage's office.

Danzo paid attention to his files as they left his office, and his mind began to wander about the issue of Moryo more and more. The Hokage calmed his mind, and reminded himself that he has conquered larger obstacles before, and he would continue to until the world was at peace under the Wrath of Fire.

* * *

When Akatsuki arrived in the Land of Demons, they were horrified when they saw the Priestess's palace completely broken down and destroyed, with small flames dwindling down upon piles of ash as bodies littered the ground.

They quickly searched the area, finding no survivors, nor any sign of the Priestess, dead or alive. Yahiko searched the remains of the Priestess's chambers, finding nothing before he threw a piece of charred wood across the way in frustration. He looked up, seeing Deidara flying around the area, trying to find something of value.

"Damn it," Naruto snapped as he pushed a piece of lumber over. "What caused all of this...?"

"The Ghost Army," a voice stated. Naruto scowled angrily before walking away to another location. Behind him, a young man with silver hair and two hook swords followed him. "The High Priestess of the Land of Demons was the only one who could stop the Moryo. As such, they sought to eliminate her as a threat first."

"Yeah, that's what you cowards always do," Naruto fired back as he began looking over a pile of ash and wood.

"You consider me a coward then?" Naruto huffed bitterly before he began digging through the pile, sifting through the remains. "On this mission, for better or for worse, we're comrades. We need to put personal differences aside."

"I can put you aside if you leave me the hell alone!" Naruto threw a piece of lumber at Kiriya, who simply moved his head to the side to avoid it. Naruto glared at the assassin before pointing a threatening finger at him. "You just stay out of my way, alright?! I warned you once before, or do I need to break your wrist again?!" Kiriya huffed before crossing his arms over his chest, having lost his patience.

"It's sad really. That you devote so much time and effort towards that Alliance dog, Haruno." Naruto's eyes flared wider with anger as he clenched his fists tightly. Kiriya narrowed his eyes on Naruto, "Honestly, it's a waste of time. Yahiko told me to abort the mission, but if I already informed him that if I get the chance again, I will kill that trash."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Naruto's anger got the better of him as the Kyuubi's chakra began to leak out, covering him in a chakra shroud. "You shut your damn mouth before I rip your throat out!"

Kiriya shuddered a bit with fear as he felt the powerful chakra press down upon him, but he tried to hold his own. "Honestly, you even lack control! I don't see the point in keeping the truth about your mother from you if it only makes you lose control!"

"You don't know ANYTHING about my mother!"

"Kushina Uzumaki?! The Red Haired Demon of Konoha?! The Hot Blooded Killer of the Alliance?! Stop me if you've heard any of these before?!" Naruto growled angrily, the Kyuubi's hatred growing more and more of a solidified hold over him. "Your mother and father both were both tools of the Alliance, and cowards for not breaking away from the village despite their beliefs! I have no pity for them, nor you DOG!"

"That's IT!" Naruto shot forward, darting across the ruins in a flash towards Kiriya. The young assassin attempted to grab his swords to defend himself, but was too slow before someone grabbed him and jumped out of the way.

As reality gripped Naruto, he realized his mistake and wasted no time in running away out of repressed fear, and moved into the forest.

Konan, who had saved Kiriya, threw the boy towards the ground and scowled, "Why I bothered saving your worthless hide is beyond me!" Yahiko, Deidara, Itachi, and Obito all joined shortly afterwards, shocked and confused by what happened. Konan glared at Yahiko, "You told me you could keep your mutt on a leash!" Yahiko was severely shocked for a moment before turning to Kiriya with a hardened stare.

"What did you do?!"

"Deidara, take to the skies and try to catch up with Naruto," Konan ordered. The artists nodded and then flew straight up on his clay bird. "Itachi, Obito, you're both with me! We can't afford to lose Naruto right now!" The two Uchiha nodded before following the path Naruto took. Konan turned around, glaring at Kiriya and then Yahiko before running off to find Naruto.

Yahiko, at this point furious, turned to Kiriya before repeating himself, "What did you do?"

"I...I only wanted to see your point proven Yahiko," Kiriya replied. "You thought Naruto couldn't control his anger, nor the Kyuubi, and see, you're right?"

"Because you provoked him," Yahiko snapped. The orange haired man clutched his head before glaring at Kiriya. "You and I are going to look for the Priestess. And if I see you around Naruto again during this mission, so help me, you're going to wish to a gentler punishment." Kiriya lowered his head and nodded to Yahiko before the two continued their search for clues about the Priestess.

Naruto continued to run through the forest, by this point his demonic chakra reseeding. He blocked out Kiriya's words a long time ago, but was now more worried about what might happen to him after taking a swing at a fellow Akatsuki member. He knew he barely got away with attacking Kiriya last time, and he was terrified about what might happen this time.

The blonde jumped over a hill and landed in a clearing, grinding to a halt as he nearly jumped on a young, pale blonde haired girl with unusual purple eyes. Naruto froze, panting heavily as he simply stared into the young woman's eyes as she did the same, neither of them quite sure what happened, or how to process each others presence. Before Naruto knew it however, there was a sharp, firm strike delivered to the back of his neck, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head as darkness overtook his senses.

* * *

**That awkward moment where you're writing and writing and writing, and you realize you're already three chapters ahead in your story...that rarely ever happens with me xD  
So yeah, currently working on chapter nine of all things. Doesn't mean I'm posting all my chapters back to back. Maybe weekly if I can get a schedule going where I write enough to actually post a weekly chapter for awhile to get a good chunk of my story taken out. We'll see what the future brings as I always say lol**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm planning things to accomplish in this arc, so I hope you all look forward to it. Feel free to leave a review on your way out ^^ Thanks for reading!  
**


	7. Assault on the Demon

Their fifth day of traveling, the Alliance team finally arrived in the Land of Swamps. Higure, as well as Anko and Rin, found it odd that they hadn't met any kind of resistance from a Ghost Army, or anyone else for that matter. The group decided to make camp, as they traveled over night without any rest. Higure stood atop the tallest tree and looked out at the large forests surrounding their campsite, wondering how far it all stretched. He also wondered why nobody had attacked them yet, especially since now they were in enemy territory.

The Commander sighed as he stayed at the top of the tree before he heard someone coming up to check on him. "Uncle, are you alright," Sakura's voice asked. Higure nodded, his eyes still gazing out into the distance. Sakura stared at her uncle in worry, knowing that something had to be bothering him. "What's wrong...?"

"I'm just wondering why we haven't been attacked yet," Higure admitted. Sakura's eyes lowered as she realized she didn't consider that much. In the end, she was just so grateful to go almost a whole week without fighting that it never crossed her mind as suspicious.

Higure kept staring, as if searching for the answer. "We've been traveling for five days since we left the Land of Fire's shores, and we haven't encountered any enemy resistance. None of this Ghost Army, no other enemy shinobi from the Land of Demons or Swamps...I don't understand what's going on..." Higure's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist tightly, as if anxiety was gripping his whole being. Sakura grew a bit worried that maybe her uncle was looking for a fight, heaven forbid.

The next words her uncle spoke sent a chill running down her back, "Unless they're already close to releasing Moryo..." Sakura gasped softly before Higure turned to her. "I'm going to scout on ahead. You and the others rest here for awhile before following me, understood?"

"Wait, Uncle!" Before Sakura could protest further, Higure was already gone. The pink haired girl immediately jumped down the tree to rejoin the group. _'Damn it Uncle...why do you have to go and pull a stunt like this?!'_ When she landed on the ground, all heads turned towards Sakura. "Uncle Higure went on ahead! He thinks that the enemy may already be reviving Moryo!"

"Damn that man," Rin scowled while the others simply stood up in shock. The brunette medic wasted no time in taking command, "Fu, go on ahead and try to find him!" The Jinchuriki nodded and then grew a pair of chakra wings before flying off above the trees. "The rest of you spread out in a line to cover more distance! If we find him, call out, and stay close enough for contact!" The rest of the team nodded before they all sprung off into the forest. _'What're you planning Higure...?'_

* * *

Higure continued forward, scowling angrily as he headed in a particular direction. He didn't want to get anyone else involved in his own personal mission, which is why he left so suddenly, hoping that the rest of the team would just continue with the objective. It wasn't the fact he was entirely worried about Moryo, but more about the fact he sensed a particular person's chakra within the nearby area. _'Madara...'_

* * *

Naruto slowly awoke groggily as vision came back to him slowly. He looked and saw a young man with glasses sitting next to the young blonde girl he saw earlier. "Oh, you're awake," a kind voice replied. Naruto groaned and turned his head towards the woman's voice, seeing a kind, gentle looking woman with glasses and light hair smiling at him. "I'm sorry about knocking you out, but you kind of took us by surprise, and I was only trying to protect the Priestess."

"Ugh...what," Naruto asked slowly as his memory came back to him. "O-oh, sorry about that...wait..." Naruto's eyes widened as he cried out loudly, memories of his current location and mission flooding back to him. "YOU'RE THE PRIESTESS?! WE NEED YOU!"

The woman laughed a bit light kindheartedly, causing Naruto to look at her in confusion. The older woman wasn't really what he truly expected from a priestess. "I-I'm sorry," the woman said as she wiped a tear away from her eyes. "I'm afraid the Priestess is that beautiful young girl over there." The woman pointed to the pale blonde, who looked back at Naruto with a firm stare. Naruto stared back at the actual Priestess. To her credit, Naruto did find her attractive, but the Jinchuriki couldn't help but think of Neji's creepy cousin from Konoha.

"My name is Miko Nanigashi," the older woman said, recapturing Naruto's attention. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Y-yeah, thanks," Naruto groaned again as a dull thud registered in the back of his head. The blonde looked back at Miko, wondering how such a gentle woman could hit so hard. "B-but we need to get the Priestess to seal Moryo's body! She's the only one who can stop it!"

"Yes, we know," Miko said with a worried look. "We were attempting to find our way to the Land of Swamps until the Ghost Army attacked..."

"Well come on, I'll escort you guys! Me and uh...oh..." The realization that he broke off from the rest of his team dawned on him. He wondered how the others were taking his absence, but shook it off, reassuring himself that they were looking for him.

Naruto turned back to Miko, keeping his mission objective in mind. "Well, screw it, if we go now, we can get a head start on the bad guys and get the Priestess to the Land of Swamps asap!"

"Even then it's pointless," Miko muttered with disappointment in her voice. "The Ghost Army was far stronger than we imagined unfortunately...not even our heaviest weapons could slow them down I'm afraid..."

"Well don't you worry about that! Cause Naruto Uzumaki is here to help you!" Miko expressed her shock at that name, while the Priestess and her other guard turned towards the loud blonde haired boy. Naruto quickly stood up to his feet and looked over at the Priestess before rubbing the back of his neck and laughing softly. "Oh, right, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm a shinobi of the group known as Akatsuki."

"Looks like you were right Miss Miko," the other young guard spoke. Naruto looked over at the woman as she stood up next to him and smiled.

"Wait...what do you mean?"

Miko smiled softly at Naruto, "Well, news of the Alliance's war as well as the group of rogue ninja known as the Akatsuki has just recently reached the Land of Demons you see. I judged by your robe and lack of headband that you were of the Akatsuki." Naruto's eyes widened a bit before he looked down at his black, hooded cloak with red clouds on it. The blonde laughed and rubbed the back of his head, again embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I'm not too subtle after all?" Naruto's eyes opened again as a realization hit him. "Wait...you guys know I'm from a rogue organization, but you're not scared?"

"The Land of Demons has never been allies with Konohagakure, or anyone from the Alliance," Shion stated with a bitter tone. "Not after they tried to attack our country long ago during their founding..." Naruto tilted his head with confusion. Miko sighed at the boy's very obvious slow wit.

"During the founding time period of Konoha, a man named Madara Uchiha sought to become the country's Hokage, the village leader," Miko explained. Naruto turned to the aide and listened intently to her as she explained a bit of the country's history. "He branched out west, forcing the Land of Earth to submit to his and his village's will, and sought to go beyond that, all the way to the Land of Demons." Naruto gasped softly as the image of the masked man came into his head. The boy scowled a bit in anger before crossing his arms over his chest. "Because of Madara's attempt to control our land, the Priestess at that time, Shion's grandmother, fought with him in a legendary battle that devastated much of our people's land. Finally, the Priestess managed to bring Madara to a stalemate, and he left the country, never returning again."

Naruto's expression grew more thoughtful as he wondered why Madara Uchiha would come so far out to the west just to take over a country like this. As if reading his thoughts, the male escort answered, "Legend has it that Madara Uchiha was after Moryo's Ghost Army, in order to secure his position as Hokage, and to control the demon itself." The young man turned to Shion, who was clearly disinterested in the conversation. Despite this, he continued his explanation. "But only the Priestess of the Land of Demons has the power to stop such a monster..." Naruto stared at Shion, his eyes focused on her as if analyzing her over. The Priestess turned to the blonde, catching his gaze before turning away, trying not to be affected by his stare.

"I'm afraid Naruto might be right though, Taruho," Miko stated as she looked to Shion. "If we want any chance of stopping Moryo...we're going to have to head to the Land of Swamps immediately." Taruho sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I understand...but risking Lady Shion's life like this..."

"It would be the same as if we let Moryo become unbound into this world," Miko stated firmly. The nun smiled warmly. "Besides, it's not as if the Priestess ever could die, right?" Taruho again nodded, unconvinced at the statement as his worry for the Priestess outweighed his conscious. "Come on, I know the way. Young Uzumaki?" Naruto looked up at Miko with a curious expression. "Would you mind watching Lady Shion as we move? I would be very grateful."

"No problem Miss Nanisami!"

Miko giggled and patted the boy's head, "It's Nanigashi, Naruto."

"Oh, sorry..." Miko ruffled the boy's hair before taking the lead, running at what Naruto considered to be a slow pace. The blonde picked up Shion in his arms, causing the Priestess to cry out in shock, blushing madly before she began screaming at Naruto, who followed Miko. Behind them was Taruho, who looked around the woods cautiously.

"Put me down you stupid brute! This isn't any way to be carrying someone of my stature!" Shion flailed and kicked angrily, pushing against Naruto's face in frustration. The Jinchuriki groaned and mentally cursed himself for being stuck with such a terrible job all of a sudden.

* * *

Kin sighed in annoyance, tapping her foot on the ground while Yomi and his whole cult remained inside the mountain, attempting to study Moryo's seal without her. Standing with Kin were the Serpent Five, as well as the twelve Yamato clones, all wearing black, hooded robes that usually ANBU wore when on missions. Kin found it easier to look at the wooden clones with some form of clothes on, rather than them standing naked with no features to show.

Finally, the four servants of Yomi walked out with the rest of the cultist grunts, and the three mercenaries Yomi hired, walked out of the cave without their master. The de facto leader of the group, Kusuna, stepped towards Kin, "I'm afraid Lord Yomi's body is too weak now to undo the seal..."

"WHAT?!" Kin shouted in outrage. Her body trembled with anger, having the nearly uncontainable urge to kill the lot of them. The Serpent Five also seemed to tense up, expecting some sort of fight to occur. "What do you mean?! He can't undo the seal now with Moryo's power inside of him?!"

"I'm afraid so," Kusuna stated. "Moryo's spirit dwelling within his lordship has dwindled his power and chakra down to nothing. It's all he can do to keep himself alive with Moryo in him."

"So what now," Kin demanded to know. "We just let Yomi die in there with Moryo's spirit in his body?!"

"No," Kusuna replied, keeping his calm despite Kin's abrasive attitude. "Lord Yomi has a plan that involves using the Priestess." Kin raised her brow questioningly before shifting her weight to one side. She couldn't help but become intrigued by said plan, and whenever she became curious she needed to know the answers.

"Alright...I'll bite. What's the plan?"

* * *

Konan, Itachi, and Obito all came into a clearing together, panting heavily as they had been running at top speeds for miles now with no trace of Naruto. Konan grew angry, and impatient as she had the strong urge to punch something. She was more furious at Yahiko's little stooge than the orange haired man himself. Konan wasn't sure herself if that was a good or bad thing.

"Maybe we should take a break," Itachi suggested calmly. He noted Konan's anger, and guessed that running around blindly would get the trio nowhere. "If we haven't found even a trace of him so far, then there's no use in wasting our energy. Besides, Deidara has an eye in the sky. He'll definitely find Naruto." Konan closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, knowing that Itachi was, as usual, correct.

"Hey, what's this," Obito asked. Itachi and Konan turned to the spiky haired Uchiha as he lifted up a piece of paper and began to unfold it. "Heading to the Land of Swamps," Obito read aloud. "Urgent, Moryo is being revived. The Priestess is on her way there now. Backup would be much appreciated..." Obito showed the letter to Konan and Itachi both as they approached. "It has an Akatsuki seal on it...you think it's Naruto?"

"No," Konan replied, shaking her head. "If Naruto found the Priestess, he would've just hauled butt to the Land of Swamps without thinking to leave a message behind."

"It could be a trap," Itachi stated.

"It's also our best lead," Konan finished as she turned around. "We'll grab Yahiko and head to the Land of Swamps. Set off a flare for Deidara." Obito nodded and pulled out a small rod, which he twisted the top off of and aimed it as the sky before a green, fiery smoke bomb went up into the air, high above the trees. _'Naruto...please don't do anything stupid on your own...'_

* * *

Madara and company arrived in the Land of Swamps several hours ago, and followed their masked leader towards the location where Moryo's body resided. The masked man stopped, causing the others to stop as well. "Ahhh..." Madara sighed as his Sharingan burned with anticipation before a lone figure landed before him. The five swordsmen gasped in shock as the Konoha shinobi stood up, and stared each one of them down. "Now this truly is a surprise. What might I do for you, Higure?"

"Well, not showing up everywhere I go would be a nice starter," Higure replied truthfully. The Alliance Commander had sensed the other five chakra signatures and had correctly guessed who was accompanying Madara. "Why are you here? Surely you know better than to think that Dark Chakra is something you can control Madara!"

"Control is what you think I'm after? Foolish man, you've been under Danzo's thumb for too long." Higure scowled a bit as Madara held up his hand and clenched it tightly into a gloved fist. "I'm after a small sample of power that will be necessary for my plans...the resurrection of Moryo, the ambitions of the Yomi Clan, none of that matters to me. All that matters are my goals." Madara lowered his arm and shook his head. "But enough of that..." The man threw his arm out to the side, causing his five swordsmen to scatter quickly.

Higure scowled as he readied himself with a single kunai. His head snapped upwards as Jinin came bearing down upon him with a hammer. Higure sprung backwards and dodged the attack, sliding across the ground as Jinin's attack made a small crater. The Alliance Commander spun around and blocked a direct strike from Kushimaru's sword. Higure quickly kicked the slender swordsmen in the stomach, sending him flying backwards before a giant, serrated chakra blade came swinging down on him. As the sword hit, a large amount of rock and dirt flew up into the air, and from the point of impact there was no body. Mangetsu scowled angrily before Higure appeared at his side in a blur. The young swordsmen gasped before Higure kicked him in the side, sending him crashing into the ground.

Higure ducked as another sword came at the back of his head, in the form of the blast sword Shibuki. The Alliance Commander ducked and kicked Jinpachi's wrist, causing the sword to drop of of his hand before he spun around and kicked the swordsman's feet out from under him. The Commander then quickly sprung away on all fours as the sword and Jinpachi hit the ground simultaneously. On impact, the sword exploded near its wielder, consuming them both in a cloud of smoke. The sword went flying into the air out of the smoke from the resulting blast. Ameyuri sprung into the air, grabbed the sword and then threw it back into the smoke cloud, where an unscathed Jinpachi caught it with his hand.

As he came to a stop, Higure looked around and saw that he was surrounded by the five ninja swordsmen. _'As expected, their teamwork is unmatched...'_ Higure looked at Ameyuri and then at Mangetsu. _'And those two are the only ones I didn't encounter in the last War...and why doesn't that one have her swords with her...?'_

"He's a fast little bugger," Mangetsu stated.

Jinpachi chuckled as he gripped his sword tightly, "Just like I remember him being. Still not as fast as ol' blondie though."

"He's still a formidable opponent," Jinin snapped, "Stay on your guard Jinpachi!"

"Fuck that! Let's just go wild and kill him already!" Jinpachi charged forward at Higure. The Konoha shinobi turned and back flipped onto his hands, coiling his body inward as Jinpachi swung at him again. The swordsman gasped and looked down at Higure before he shot both feet upward, connecting them to Jinpachi's chin as he shot straight into the air.

"Mine," Mangetsu shouted as he launched himself after Higure. The young swordsman spun his sword about with both hands, gathering up his chakra for the next attack. Higure spun around and threw a kunai at him, which Mangetsu narrowly blocked with his sword. The young man gasped when he saw a paper bomb at the end of the kunai, and could do nothing about it before it exploded in his face.

Mangetsu went plummeting to the ground and landed in a large splash of water, his sword clattering next to him. Higure landed on a nearby tree branch as he witnessed Mangetsu's sudden transformation. "A member of the Hozuki Clan..." Higure turned his head as he saw a narrowed object flying at him.

He sprung out of the tree as the sword pieces the thick wood effortlessly. Kushimaru pulled on the wire, and in effect yanking himself up to where Higure was before taking his sword out of the tree. "You can't keep running like this forever you know!"

Higure flipped around before landing on the ground in a crouch. _'I need to think of how I can beat them...they're a lot more disorganized than when Saizo or Fuguki were directing them...'_ Higure turned to Madara, who simply watched the fight unfold. _'And he doesn't seem to be too interested in leading them either...'_ Higure dodged yet another attack from Jinin while keeping his eyes on the masked Uchiha. _'I need to find a way to beat all six of them somehow...'_ Higure spun around another strike as Jinpachi swung his sword in a downward motion. He grabbed the swordsman's wrist, and spun Jinpachi in a circle before throwing him at a tree. _'I can't just keep dancing around like this forever...'_

Higure turned his head when he saw the only kunoichi of the group throw something into the air. He looked up at the object, seeing a simple kunai above him, somehow pointed down at him. Ameyuri performed a hand sign and cried out with effort. A bolt of lightning came down from out of nowhere, using the kunai as a attraction rod to aim at Higure. The Commander narrowly dodged the attack, staring at Ameyuri in pure shock at her technique.

Madara turned his eye towards the young kunoichi with a certain glee in his eye. _'This is why you were chosen to live...though Raiga could have proven to be a more useful pawn than you, your mastery over the Kiba swords were unparalleled at the time, and you can even use their ability to draw lightning in from nature without the swords themselves.'_ Madara then turned his attention back to his old foe, who skidded to a halt.

_'Damn...now this is going to be more difficult...'_

"I'm surprised your reflexes haven't dulled with retirement Haruno," Kushimaru stated. Higure turned his head towards the tall man as he slowly approached him. "Honestly, I thought Danzo was going senile when I heard you were coming out of retirement to be a Commander."

"Well, Danzo being senile is still up for debate," Higure stated with no hint of remorse. "And what about you? Got all lost and confused without Saizo Hideyoshi leading you, and you decide to follow this sorry excuse for a leader?"

"Funny how you attempt to draw out my anger," Kushimaru stated as he readied his sword, pinching the thread with his free hand. "That's always been your tactic though hasn't it? Agitate the enemy into attacking in a blind rage and leaving them open to attack...tell me though, how do you plan on doing that with each one of us?"

Higure sighed and looked around at the five swordsmen who surrounded him before turning back to Kushimaru. "You really want me to try? Cause I can if you want."

"Kushimaru," Madara called out with an impatient, lecturing tone. The tall man nodded and readied his blade.

"Forgive me master..." Higure once again prepared himself for the next assault as his eyes shifted from one swordsman to the next.

* * *

Sakura became increasingly worried as the group continued to look for her uncle, but found no trace whatsoever of him. The team met in a clearing, with the young kunoichi showing a highly worried and concerned face.

"Where the hell could he be," Anko asked in a soft whisper to Rin. The medical ninja sighed and shook her head, unsure of how to answer. "Well...do we just continue the mission then...? Leave Higure to fend for himself now...?"

Rin looked over at Sakura with pity and sadness, "I hate to do that to her...but we can't let Moryo be revived...and even then, if he went after the demon himself, we're bound to run into him, right?" Anko nodded in agreement, her lip tugging upward in a slight smile.

"Well, what have we here," a voice called out. The whole of the Alliance team looked up, seeing seven strange figures standing on the hill above them. One man with long white hair and a mask cackled, "Fresh meat for when Moryo is revived!"

"These clowns are the ones we were so worried about," Zaku muttered quietly to Dosu. The masked Chunin huffed before rolling up his sleeves.

"This won't be a problem at all..."

"You're right," Kusuna stated. "For us. Ishidate, you and your group occupy them!" Kusuna threw his arms out as three shinobi with similarly styled hair charged down the hill, the small girl and the brute-ish looking one laughing. Kusuna grinned maliciously as several odd, snake-like creatures came out of his skin, and then latched themselves to the other three, burying themselves inside of their necks.

"That's what I'm talkin' about," Gitai, the muscle bound one, shouted as his chakra exploded around him.

The Alliance team gasped and stepped back as they felt the three enhanced shinobi's chakra shoot through the roof. The three shinobi in white then charged behind the three mercenaries. The three mercenaries all pulled out kunai with odd sacks at the end of them and then threw them forward.

The Alliance shinobi all dodged, except for Fu, who was surrounded in smoke before rushing through at the enemy head-first. The muscle bound mercenary threw his fist forward, and Fu caught it with an open palm, much to the man's surprise. Fu then headbutted the man with enough force to send him smashing into the solid stone ground.

The little girl stopped in shock and stared at her comrade, "Kongo!"

Fu grinned with delight before her entire head was gripped by the man's oversized hand. Kongo laughed, grinning back at the Jinchuriki, before slamming his fist into her stomach. Fu coughed forcefully as all the air was pushed out of her stomach, and her strength suddenly taking a nose-dive. Blood flew out of her mouth and trickled down her chin before Kongo slammed Fu into the ground as she did to him earlier. In a rage, Fu grabbed the man's arm and then slammed her foot straight into his face. Kongo groaned as he was pushed up from the force of the kick, and stumbled backwards on his feet. Fu got up, growling angrily as she spat out a wad of blood and glared at Kongo. The man, also now bleeding from his mouth, grinned a bloody grin before the white haired man, Gitai, sprung up above Kongo and threw his fist out of his overly long sleeve, revealing it to be a pillar of rock. Fu sprung back, avoiding the first strike before Kongo slammed into her with his shoulder, sending them both crashing into a very thick tree.

"Fu," Sakura cried out. The pink haired kunoichi gasped as she turned her head to an orange haired woman, shorter than her, as she unleashed a ring of fire towards her.

Sakura jumped forward through the open ring and rolled across the ground, preparing to defend herself. Behind Sakura however, was one of the white dressed men with long blue hair as he unleashed a powerful gust of wind on the weak fire circle. Sakura turned her head when she heard a crackling roar of fire, seeing the giant wave of flames coming at her. Before she could move away, Zaku appeared between her and the fire, arms outstretched as he unleashed a concentrated burst of air that punched a powerful hole through the fireball.

Out from the cinders of the fire came the man with the orange spiky hair, darting right for Zaku. The young Konoha shinobi sprung backwards as the man attempted to grab him with an odd looking gauntlet. The man's fingers dug deep into the ground before he spun around, closer to Zaku, as he tore out a giant chunk of ground and used it to bash Zaku over the head. Ishidate grinned before swinging the earth again at Zaku, only this time it was destroyed by a super-powered punch from Sakura. Zaku groaned, half delirious and disoriented from the powerful blow over his head as he tried to regain his senses before being sidelined by a powerful gust of wind, that smacked him into a tree.

Ishidate grinned before stepping back away from another of Sakura's attacks, holding out his gauntlet hand before drawing another rock into his fingers. "That still won't work," Sakura shouted as she threw her fist forward. Ishidate held the rock out as Sakura's fist crushed it effortlessly. The mercenary however caught Sakura's fist in his hand, and the gauntlet revealed an unusual, menacing eye that began to glow as Sakura's arm started to become heavy, and slowly started to transform into petrified stone. "Wh-what the hell?!"

Ishidate grinned before something caught his attention and he had to avoid a kunai from Anko, who landed and immediately rushed Ishidate with a flurry of kunai and shuriken to keep him away from Sakura.

Sakura immediately began to use her healing jutsu to stop the petrification from spreading, which surprisingly worked. The pink haired kunoichi turned her head when she heard two sets of chuckles, seeing a short, young girl with spiky long hair, and the same orange haired girl from before.

_'Oh...damn it...'_

The two kunoichi were forced back when Dosu and Kurotsuchi both threw a handful of kunai at them, forcing the enemy away from Sakura. Dosu looked back at Sakura over his shoulder, "You take care of whatever the hell that is, okay?" Sakura nodded as both Dosu and Kurotsuchi launched an attack on their two enemies, keeping them away from their teammate.

Rin launched herself from above on Kusuna. The pink haired man dodged the attack and slid backwards to a halt, grinning at the brunette medic who glared back at him. "Almost had you there..."

"So you think." At Kusuna's words, Rin became confused before she felt a light, gentle cut form across her cheek. Kusuna chuckled before throwing his arms outward, unleashing several dark snakes from his body at Rin.

The kunoichi swung her arm out while jumping backwards, her chakra forming a blade over her hand to chop the snakes apart while dodging them. She continued this for a few more steps, until she stood her ground and began swinging at the snakes wildly. After a few quick moments, Rin realized that they had a hydra effect, that two would grow back as soon as she killed one.

"Damn it," Rin sprung backwards as one of the snakes managed to bite her ankle. She cried out in pain before landing out of the snake's range. Her whole leg felt as though it weighed a ton. She knew she had been poisoned, and immediately pulled out an antidote to inject into the wound.

Rin then turned her head and was forced to dodge a very powerful blade of wind, that managed to cut through the ground itself. She looked to the source, seeing the blue haired shinobi coming to Kusuna's aid.

"Are you alright brother," the blue haired man asked.

"I'm fine, Setsuna," Kusuna replied. "I don't see the Priestess with these clowns anywhere..."

"Me either," Setsuna said. "Shall we just kill them all then?" Kusuna nodded before whistling loudly.

Gitai slammed his stone fists into Fu, sending her flying to Kongo. The Jinchuriki hit the tall man's chest, bouncing off of it before Kongo slammed himself down on top of Fu, pressing all of his weight down on her. Fu let out a muffled cry into the stone before passing out. Kongo and Gitai both turned their heads to the sound of Kusuna whistling before heading back up the hill.

Ishidate dodged a flurry of snakes Anko released from her sleeves, and bounced off a tree, heading towards Kusuna and the others. As the other five shinobi joined on the hill, Kusuna motioned towards the enemy. Gitai slammed his palms together, cackling as he did.

The Alliance shinobi looked around in shock as the earth began to rise up and encase them in utter darkness, forming a large, maze-like complex around them. Gitai opened up an entrance for them as the orange haired kunoichi, Shizuku, unleashed another ring of fire into the entrance. Setsuna formed a hand sign and then unleashed a powerful gust of wind after the ring of fire, causing the simple jutsu to become a giant, wide-spread destructive jutsu. As Gitai began to close the entrance, the cave was suddenly blown open by a giant, white chakra serpent-like entity.

The seven shinobi narrowly avoided the attack and stared in awe before turning back as the caves Gitai built around the enemy began to crumble. Standing at the head of the group, Dosu stood panting heavily with his left arm extended with a clenched fist, and his odd serpent device smoking as he took a bit of fire damage.

"What in the world was that," Setsuna questioned.

"Brother," Gitai muttered, "I'm running low on chakra now!" Shizuku and Setsuna also nodded, implying they were low or out of chakra as well. Kusuna nodded, keeping his eyes on the enemy.

"Alright...we'll withdraw for now..." Kusuna turned towards the enemy and extended his arms, "If you wish to progress further, your lives are forfeit! Ahead lie even greater dangers, and the closer we are to Moryo and our master Yomi, the stronger we will be! You have been warned, shinobi of the Alliance!" In a flash, the seven shinobi disappeared from sight.

Sakura stared at Dosu in awe before the masked boy fell onto his hands and knees, groaning and panting heavily. She stood up to go help him, but a firm hand to her shoulder forced Sakura to sit back down. Anko stared intently at Sakura's stone arm. The young medical ninja shook her head and then focused back on healing it, having nearly forgotten all about it.

Up on the hill, Rin cursed herself before injecting the poison antidote into her bite wound, feeling a painful relief coursing up her leg. She turned and looked ahead to where the enemy fled towards, seeing a mountain far in the distance. Rin nodded, concluding that their objective must lie ahead.

Sakura thankfully finished undoing the stone petrification of her arm with medical treatment, and looked over as Kurotsuchi dragged Zaku over, and Fu came stumbling onto the scene, bruised, broken, and bloodied.

"Oh god, are you alright?" Fu waved her arm at Sakura dismissively, holding her side painfully.

"I'm fine girlie, sheesh," the Jinchuriki groaned. Sakura still looked worried as could be. Fu disregarded the look, and simply took the old 'walk-it-off' solution to her injuries. Rin rejoined the others, staring over as Anko helped Dosu to his feet, before heading over towards Fu.

"You need medical treatment Fu," Rin stated with an air of authority. Fu stared at the medical ninja with a firm glare. The Jinchuriki then huffed, conceding the point that Rin was her superior and senior before turning her head away. Rin's hands began to glow as she started to heal a few of Fu's wounds before looking over at Sakura. "Help Zaku if you can, okay Sakura?"

"Right," the pink haired girl nodded as she went over to her teammate and began to heal the bleeding wound at the top of his head.

"So what the hell were those guys," Kurotsuchi exclaimed loudly. "Those guys in white just bombarded us with ninjutsu, and those bastards with the funny hair used nothing by taijutsu?! How the hell are they that coordinated?"

"It's not that hard after analyzing their abilities," Anko stated as she carried Dosu over to the others. "The enemy in white were eager to throw their jutsus about, like a kid who got his first kunai." Anko set Dosu on the ground, sitting him up against a tree, facing the group. "The three funny looking ones seemed to be the more...seasoned shinobi. They knew how their allies would attack, and left openings for them."

"So they're not in the same group then," Sakura said, concluding that much from her sensei's statements.

"They're apart of the same team, but even an idiot could tell that the guys with the funny hairdos aren't with the Yomi Clan," Fu stated. The Jinchuriki drew in a sharp breath as Rin moved over to a fresh wound, but did her best to block out the pain. "Those three might just be mercenaries of some sort..."

"But why did they leave," Dosu asked. "I used the Eight Branches Strike to save all of our lives. And in the end, the burst I used ended up eating up all my chakra...in the heat of the moment, I didn't exactly have time to worry about how much chakra to use..."

"You still saved our asses, so thanks," Fu replied, staring over at the immobile Chunin. Dosu let out a slightly intrigued breath, feeling a bit of pride for being praised by one as cold as Fu. The Jinchuriki then looked back to the rest of the group. "So the four in the white robes use super powerful ninjutsu...maybe they ran out of chakra?"

"Maybe..." Rin muttered. She stopped healing Fu for a moment, causing the green haired girl to turn her head in curiosity. Rin pulled out an empty vial and then stabbed it into her calf muscle, much to Fu's shock, and eventually everyone elses after they saw what she did. Rin seemed unaffected as her blood was drained into the tiny glass container, as well as some dark essence. Rin pulled the vial out of her calf and quickly stopped the bleeding with some minor healing ninjutsu. She stared at her blood, and saw the dark poison that was in her body swirling around without any movement required. "Dark Chakra..."

"You're joking," Anko muttered.

"The leader of the white robed band, he injected Dark Chakra into me with those snakes of his," Rin stated. A cold chill of fear ran through Sakura's body as she remembered her uncle's description of Dark Chakra.

"Are...are you going to be alright...?" Rin nodded before tossing the vial to the side, the glass breaking and releasing her blood and the poison on the ground.

"That's not pure Dark Chakra, but more of a poisoned form, most likely for killing opponents, rather than beefing up his own comrades," Rin explained. "I injected myself with an antidote, so the toxin will be neutralized, and the Dark Chakra will fade on its own after the poison is gone." Sakura let out a sigh of relief, feeling a heavy weight of worry lifted off of her shoulders. Rin continued to heal Fu, which the Jinchuriki silently appreciated greatly. "The three mercenaries though...that smoke bomb that they threw, I recognize it as a performance dulling powder..." The group, namely Fu, looked at Rin in confusion. "It's a powder that affects the brain and reflexes...it slows down reaction time and perception, making you slower in speed and response time." Rin turned to Fu, directing the comment specifically to her, "Next time, don't just sit there and let them poison you."

"Yeah, yeah," Fu muttered, secretly feeling ashamed.

"Hopefully next time we'll be able to put up a better defense," Dosu stated. "Now that we know the enemy's tactics and all."

"I'm still worried about what they said though," Sakura admitted as she finished healing the wound on Zaku's head. "What if they are stronger? Or there are more shinobi just like them? Just because we understand an enemy's tactics, doesn't mean that we can fight an army of shinobi enhanced on Dark Chakra, or mercenaries more skilled than those three..."

"Then we'll just have to plan our next approach carefully," Rin said with a smile on her face. The team turned to their new, makeshift leader as she continued to heal the Jinchuriki.

* * *

Higure panted heavily as fighting his five opponents started to become taxing on him. The swordsmen surrounding him also seemed a bit winded, but the Alliance Commander knew that he would be done for if he didn't do something quick.

_'Alright...I've studied their attack patterns enough now. I know I can't escape because of Madara's Sharingan, and I've gotten it down to a science how these other five fight...if I'm off just a little bit in my timing, I could end up dead...'_

"While this is all fun and games, I must insist that we wrap this up," Madara stated, staring at Higure. The Uchiha nodded to the swordsmen, who in turn readied to pounce.

Higure's eyes shifted back and forth between his enemies. Before he knew it, he felt a hand on his shoulder that forced him to turn around. Before his mind could register what happened, Madara gripped Higure's throat, preventing him from breathing as he lifted him off of the ground. Madara stared up at him with a single, burning red eye while Higure stared back down at him.

"I'm afraid I have no more time to play," Madara stated. As Higure kicked about weakly to try and break free from Madara's iron grip, he didn't notice as several roots from the ground slowly came up and began to twist and turn, heading up to meet at a singular point. Madara dropped Higure as the roots all tightened around him, holding him in place as they wrapped around him. "In time, these roots will drain you of your chakra, and then your life force. It's a little jutsu I developed over time. I hope you have a good time to rot there while I go claim what I need."

Higure tried to mouth and curse Madara, but roots constricted too tightly around his body. The masked man turned and continued into the forest with the Swordsmen of the Mist following behind him. Higure closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as he imagined that his air would be short once the roots finished closing around him. When the roots all connected, they solidified into a tree, looking odd only in the fact that it was shorter than the other trees in the forest.

"Is it wise to leave him like that," Kushimaru asked as Madara started sprinting. "You know he'll be able to escape that!"

"There's enough chakra in those roots that it will take him some time to break free from them," Madara stated. "Besides, he's more valuable to me alive than dead." Kushimaru sighed and nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Mangetsu looked confused for a moment before turning to Jinin, "Wait, how exactly is that guy gonna break free? He was bound by those root things! Isn't that the First Hokage's ability anyway?"

"Shut your mouth," Jinin stated before moving ahead of Mangetsu. The prodigy groaned and rolled his eyes before Ameyuri joined alongside him.

"I've only heard of the ability," the kunoichi stated, briefly shifting her eyes to Mangetsu. "But Higure is known as the Chakra Leech, in the sense that he can absorb chakra."

"He can what?! You mean like Samehada?!"

Ameyuri shrugged briefly, "To be completely honest I'm not sure. I don't think he can absorb chakra based attacks, but rather he can absorb chakra out of physical objects. As I said before, I haven't seen this ability in person, and have only heard brief whispers about it. But it's an ability that's recognizable enough that it's earned him his moniker."

Mangetsu groaned as he looked ahead, "Damn it...why do we always get the freaks...?"

* * *

The Akatsuki team moved through the forests quickly through the Land of Demons, heading towards the Land of Swamps while keeping an eye out for Naruto and now the Priestess. The entire time was spend in silence, which tore Yahiko apart. He knew Konan was upset, and he couldn't blame her for breaking his promise to keep Kiriya under a watchful eye. In truth he was most upset with himself more so than Kiriya. Though he knew an apology to Konan would be pointless, he still hoped to apologize to Naruto whenever they found the blonde Jinchuriki.

While in his own thoughts, Yahiko was interrupted when he heard some leaves rustling from above. Everyone looked up and saw Deidara descending from the sky, flying next to the group of five. "Alright, from what I can tell, our target is a few miles ahead."

"Moryo or Naruto," Konan asked.

"The bigger pain in the ass," Deidara curtly replied. Konan scowled a bit while the artist turned his head forward. "I couldn't see anything noticeable, no army or fortifications, so we might luck out and only have to deal with minimal resistance."

"That wouldn't quite be our luck, now would it," Kiriya mused thoughtfully.

Konan scowled at the young assassin before turning to her more trusty blonde ally, "Deidara, take Obito with you and move on ahead without us. If there are any traps or resistance up ahead, you have free range to let loose!" Deidara grinned eagerly and nodded. Without an order needed, Obito jumped onto the clay bird Deidara rode before they took off high into the sky and shot forward along the winds. _'Be careful...'_

"Konan, if you want you and Itachi can move up ahead," Yahiko offered. The blue haired woman turned her head, narrowing her eyes at her fellow Akatsuki founder. "We could cover more ground with your paper wings, and it could help to divide the enemy."

"So then you and Kiriya can just piss off Naruto even more if you find him," Konan accused harshly. Yahiko sighed, knowing he deserved as much.

"Look, I know you're upset by all this, but you can't honestly believe I told Kiriya to agitate Naruto! You know I was in support of hiding his origins from him, to better keep his emotions under control, as well as the Kyuubi." Konan's eyes narrowed as she sighed softly. Yahiko knew the look Konan gave, knowing that she agreed with him for better or for worse. Without saying a word, papers flew out of Konan's cloak and formed a pair of wings on her back. "Thank you for trusting me Konan..."

"I trust you, but I don't trust _him_," Konan snapped, glaring at the silver haired assassin. "Itachi stays with you. I'll move on ahead by myself." Konan turned to the young Uchiha, who simply nodded before she needed to say anything. Konan smiled at him with appreciation before flying up into the sky before Yahiko could protest her going alone.

"Damn it," Yahiko muttered.

"You can't blame her really," Itachi stated, turning to Yahiko with a half-apologetic look. "I mean, I don't even trust this kid."

"I'm right here," Kiriya said, looking at the older shinobi.

"And I'm just being honest with you." Kiriya huffed bitterly and turned away from Itachi. Yahiko sighed and nodded before looking at Itachi, whose eyes stayed forward to the mission.

_'This guy...maybe we should consider giving him a promotion...'_ Yahiko knew that Itachi was wise and skilled far beyond his years, but he had very few chances to actually work alongside him. It was odd, but even with the limited interaction he had with Itachi on this mission, he couldn't help but feel as though the young man was his peer, rather than a subordinate. Yahiko made a mental note to consider Itachi for the leader status he, Konan, Nagato, Jiraiya, and Tsunade held when they returned home.

Yahiko turned his head forward, eyes focused and determined to finish the mission, and to make amends with Naruto when they found him.

* * *

Naruto sneezed loudly, causing a flock of birds to scatter from the treetops, crowing loudly as they did. Taruho, Miko, and Shion all turned and stared at the young man for his loud outburst as he rubbed his nose. "Aren't you ninjas supposed to be quiet," Shion asked angrily, shaking her arm angrily at Naruto.

"Sorry about that," Naruto muttered, having grown impatient with the Priestess's snobbish attitude. Naruto held his tongue though, having been taught to do so when dealing with some members of Akatsuki, and also because Shion reminded him of a certain princess, now Daimyo, he helped not too long ago and how she changed by the end of their adventure together. Naruto simply hoped that Shion could change as well by the end of their encounter as Koyuki did.

"Lady Shion," Miko asked as she carried the Priestess on her back, "have you had any visions lately?" Shion shook her head, narrowing her eyes softly as she seemingly tried to ignore the question.

"Huh? Visions?"

Taruho nodded as he looked to Naruto, "Lady Shion, as the High Priestess of the Land of Demons, has an inherit ability that allows her to foresee other people's deaths." Naruto blinked as he stared at the bodyguard with a blank gaze. Taruho looked over to Shion being carried on Miko's back and continued. "It's a way to protect herself, as she can foresee her own death, and in turn change it from happening. This way, someone else can die in order for Lady Shion to live."

"Wait...so just because some little girl tells you she might die, other people throw their lives away for her..." Naruto turned and looked at Shion, who wasn't even paying attention to him. The Jinchuriki scowled angrily and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well that's really fuckin' stupid!"

"Naruto, please," Taruho said, stepping forward a bit more, now in front of the blonde a little ways. "You must understand Lady Shion's importance. We all have pledged an oath to lay down our lives for Lady Shion. Surely you must have someone important to you as well who you would lay down your life for."

Naruto turned his head away as several important people came to mind, before turning back to Taruho. "Well yeah, but that's different. I wouldn't risk my life just because one of my comrades is afraid to die or something because they had a bad dream."

"Lady Shion's predictions..." Taruho sighed, staring down at the ground. Naruto gave the man a confused look before the bodyguard moved his eyes back to him. "Lady Shion has predicted over one hundred, accurate, specific deaths for people she knew. And has been right on how it will specifically happen every single time."

"E-e-e-every time," Naruto asked, a cold sweat running down his face out of fear.

"That's right," Miko replied with an all too cheerful tone. "Lady Shion's gift is truly an amazing thing when you think about it!"

Naruto's eye twitched nervously at Miko's chipper attitude towards such a morbid ability. "Yeah, amazing isn't exactly the term I'd use..."

A loud rustling in the leaves caused everyone's attention to turn upwards, and their voices to become silenced. Naruto's eyes scanned his surroundings while Taruho unsheathed his sword, running next to Miko and Shion's side. The Priestess clung to Miko fearfully while frantically looking around at the tree tops, while Miko remained surprisingly calm, eyes unfocused and staring down.

A man in a black, hooded robe shot out of the bushes and rushed towards Miko and Shion. Taruho immediately moved in the way and swung down with his sword. The man lifted his arm up, as his limb became an enlarged, slid block of wood that took the sword with no effort or pain shown. Taruho gasped in shock before he was thrown to the side by the man.

As he hit the ground, Taruho slid across the wet ground before looking up at the attacker, "Wh-what the...?"

The man took the sword out of his wooden arm while Miko attempted to run with Shion. As she did, the two women were cut off by another man in an identical cloak, hood and mask covering his face. "Oh no," Miko murmured.

A furious cry was heard as the masked man turned and received a powerful blow to the face from Naruto's fist. The man was thrown back like a rag-doll and slammed into the nearest tree, splinters and chunks of wood flying out from impact. Naruto turned to the original attacker, now armed with a sword, and growled.

"You bastards aren't gettin' anywhere near the Priestess, ya hear me?!" Miko and Shion both looked on in shock at Naruto's statement, before many more cloaked, masked men arrived out of the woodwork, making nearly a dozen of them. Naruto looked around, undaunted from his anger as he was vastly outnumbered. The Jinchuriki grinned and huffed, "Good...I was hoping to take my anger out on something!"

The attacker Naruto punched into a tree stood up, revealing to be unscathed, though his face was deformed as if Naruto hit a dent into solid wood. The Jinchuriki created a small mob of shadow clones before charging at all the enemies.

Shion gasped softly as she became paralyzed, her eyes lighting up as an odd geometric pattern spun around her eyes. Miko turned her head, recognizing the tenseness of Shion's body as well as the blank look on her face. "Oh not now..."

A few of the Naruto clones were defeated within a few short seconds by the highly trained cloaked ANBU looking shinobi, but a few of them were forced onto the defensive from the blonde attackers. The real Naruto managed to take on two of the enemies at once, holding his own fairly well. Naruto slammed his fist into one of the shinobi's gut, throwing them across the clearing before seeing a pair of them heading towards Miko and Shion.

"Damn it!" Naruto ignored his original opponent and rushed towards the other two to save the Priestess. The blonde wrapped his arms around one of the opponent's waist, bending backwards to slam the ANBU's neck against the ground with a loud crack. Naruto quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed the last attacker, who now turned to him. Naruto created two shadow clones, both grabbed the real Naruto's arm with both of their hands. The clones then threw Naruto forward, giving him extra momentum as he rocketed towards the ANBU opponent. "Uzumaki Slingshot!"

Naruto slammed his fist into the man's face, shattering his mask and breaking something else. The man flew backwards, landing on his shoulder before bouncing on his face and back a few times and then rolling to a stop. Naruto grinned cockily before the man he just punched started to stand up effortlessly. The man's face was revealed to be dented, and slightly discolored like that of wood. Naruto gasped before turning to the man he was sure whose neck he broke with a suplex, only to see that one get up and crack his head back into position.

"Wait a second..." Naruto looked to the other ANBU opponent whose mask he broke, and realized that the two maskless shinobi had the exact same face. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"They're all the same opponents," Taruho questioned as he reclaimed his sword. "Could they be shadow clones...?"

"No, they're made of wood," Naruto exclaimed angrily. "But...I know this guy...these guys, whatever! He died during my last mission in Takigakure! How is he still alive?!"

"Cover me while I try to get the Priestess out of here," Miko shouted as she started moving towards an opening.

"Where the hell is she going," Naruto screamed angrily. "Why does she think splitting up is helpful now?!"

"It must have been one of her visions," Taruho shouted as he swung his sword at one of the ninjas, who side stepped and avoided each strike simply. "It's Miko and my duty to protect Lady Shion's life, even a the cost of our own!"

Naruto's frustration with the situation grew before he formed a Rasengan in his hand, and then slammed it in the stomach of one of the wooden puppet, blowing it away into a tree. The clone slowly began healing its damage, much to Naruto and Taruho's shock.

"Damn it! What does it take to kill these things?!"

* * *

Miko gently jumped over a few obstacles with Shion on her back, eyes darting around from place to place, "I don't see what you're talking about Lady Shion..."

"There," Shion shouted, pointing to a tree. "That's what I saw in my vision!" Miko nodded and turned her head towards the sound of the enemy's pursuit. Four of the cloaked enemies sprung down from above. Miko spun around on the ground, gently throwing Shion off her back. The Priestess cried out loudly as she hit and rolled across the ground. "What the hell Miko?! You couldn't be a little more gentle?!"

"Do what you need to do milady," Miko shouted as one of the attackers threw a fist at the Priestess's aid. Much to Shion's shock, the older lady blocked the strike, spun the enemy around and threw it stumbling away from the Priestess. The next two began their assault on Miko, who managed to avoid and block their attacks one at a time, keeping them at bay.

Shion stared in awe as she watched her aid move around gracefully, skillfully between the two foes, effortlessly keeping them on the ropes. In Shion's eyes, it seemed as though the older woman wasn't even trying. The Priestess shook her head before running over to the tree she saw in her vision.

Shion began beating her hands on the tree, "I know you're in there! Please, we need help!" The two remaining foes landed on the ground around Shion, causing the Priestess to gasp and fall on her backside. The two slowly approached her as the blonde trembled.

Miko turned her head, seeing the Priestess in danger. She blocked a strike with her open palm and then kicked one of the clones in the gut, causing it to stumble back before ducking under the second one. Miko threw a rope dart at one of the foes threatening Shion, penetrating its chest. Miko stepped back away from one of her opponent's strikes, then blocked a follow up strike with the rope before yanking it towards her.

One of the clones was forcefully jerked off its feet, being pulled to the side off the. The other clone paid no mind to its partner as it moved in towards Shion. The Priestess cried out loudly for someone to help. The tree next to Shion was broken open like brittle glass as a hand griped the wood clone's arm, preventing it from grabbing Shion.

A uniformed man with green eyes and light brown hair broke out of the tree and immediately slammed his fist into the wood clone's face, shattering the mask, and releasing a powerful burst of chakra that blew the clone's entire head off. Shion stared up in shock at the man she saw in her vision less than five minutes ago.

Higure groaned as he rolled his arm to stretch out his shoulder, "Sheesh...this is what I get for wanting to take a brief nap." The Alliance Commander sighed as he put both hands on his hips before turning to the Priestess Shion.

Shion gasped as she saw the man's headband, a detail she didn't remember in her vision. "Y-you're of the Alliance...?"

"Regretfully," Higure replied before turning to the headless wooden ninja. The Commanders' eyes widened as something shot out of the headless torso. "Watch out!" Higure grabbed Shion and jumped out of the way as a mass of white, tiny snakes shot at the two. "What the hell...?" The snakes turned back around and shot at Shion and Higure again. The shinobi cursed mentally as he pulled out a kunai, knowing he couldn't dodge.

Shion's eyes widened as she felt something overcome her senses. A bright flash of light occurred, creating a barrier of a strange chakra type around the Priestess and the Commander. The snakes hit the barrier, and were instantly incinerated on contact. Higure looked on in shock before turning to Shion who was just as surprised as he was. The Commander looked as Shion's bell, sensing the power coming from the small item itself.

_'What in the world...'_

Shion cried out while Higure blinked in shock as the barrier broke apart, shooting beams of light chakra into each of the other wooden clones, slicing them in half. Miko stared in confusion and awe as her enemies were cut down in front of her. Three masses of snakes came out of the wooden clones, and were once again wiped out by another blast of chakra from Shion's bell.

Higure landed on the ground with Shion in hand, eyes larger than before as he looked again at Shion's bell. "What the hell...?"

Before Higure could finish his sentence, he was forcefully smacked across the face by a blushing Priestess, "YOU PERVERT!" The Commander fell to the ground, groaning as he held the side of his now swelled face.

"OW! Jeez! I was looking at that bell, you psychotic girl!"

Shion huffed, covering her chest by pulling her jacket closed, turning her back to him and putting her arms over her bosom, "Yeah, sure, THAT'S your excuse!" Higure groaned as stood up, still rubbing the side of his face.

"Is that how you thank someone for saving your life? You _were_ the one who screamed at me from outside that tree."

Shion huffed again, glaring at Higure, "What kind of freak hides inside of a tree anyway?"

"Not exactly my choice..." The Commander turned his head as Miko approached them. Higure stared the aid down as she stood next to the Priestess.

"Thank you for saving the Priestess," Miko said, staring hard at Higure.

"I take it you people _really_ don't like the Alliance...would you believe that's something we have in common?" The two women narrowed their eyes disbelievingly at the Commander. Higure sighed, brows pulling together as he smiled warily. "Figured as much..."

"Lady Shion!" Miko, Shion, and Higure turned to the sound of Taruho's voice, seeing him and Naruto run onto the scene. Taruho gasped when he saw an Alliance shinobi and ran faster towards the Priestess. "Lady Shion!"

Naruto paused for a second and saw Higure, eyes widening with shock, "Hey, you're-,"

"Naruto," Higure exclaimed.

"Higure!" Naruto ran towards the Alliance Commander, shocking the three Land of Demons natives as they watched. The Jinchuriki grinned and looked up at him, "What the hell are you doing way out here?"

"Uh..." Higure stared at Naruto with an awkward smile on his face before reluctantly pointing up at his headband. "I uh...I was...brought out of retirement..."

"Forcefully too I bet," Naruto growled. The blonde crossed his arms, staring firmly at the Commander, "I don't believe for a second that you would have willingly come out of retirement! Not after what Jiraiya told me about you!" Higure blinked with a dumbfounded expression before rubbing the back of his head with a small smile on his face.

Higure looked up and quickly shoved Naruto out to the side, "Look out!" He threw a kunai with a paper bomb at the end of it, sticking into one of the wood clones before it exploded. "How many is that down so far...four on our end, thanks to the Priestess."

"Naruto managed to incapacitate most of the enemies on our end, about eight in total," Taruho said as he readied a bow and arrow, looking around for any other attackers. "And then you just destroyed that one..."

"So there were at least a dozen," Higure said as his eyes darted back and forth. "Which means there's still more than half of them left...be cautious when you kill one! They've got some weird snake creatures inside them that attack once the clones are destroyed!"

"Are you kidding me," Naruto muttered, just in time for the remainder of the cloaked enemies to circle them from above.

"Stay close to the Priestess," Higure advised. "She has an...odd jutsu that protects her from harm." Taruho turned to the Alliance Commander in shock that he somehow knew that. Higure's eyes looked over the enemy quickly, counting them in his head. "Six, seven...alright, there are exactly seven of them left..." Higure turned to Miko and Taruho, glancing at the Priestess before turning back to them. "If Naruto and I handle them, do you two think you can protect Shion?"

The blonde girl huffed and glared at Higure, "Why would an Alliance shinobi like yourself care about my safe being?"

"One, you're a little girl," to this Shion immediately became outraged and offended, "Two, you're the only one who can stop Moryo, and three, that bell thing of yours is quite useful."

"Here they come," Naruto shouted before readying two kunai.

"You cover one flank, I'll get the other," Higure ordered before he and Naruto shot off in two different directions.

The two shinobi ducked between their opponents' strikes and retaliated accordingly, drawing their attention away from their original target, Shion. Higure ducked and danced around his opponent's attacks, watching carefully as to how they attacked and their particular control over the Wood Style jutsu. Higure then sprung back from one opponent and then performed a series of hand signs.

"Wind Style: Razor Whip!" Higure inhaled and then quickly exhaled a compressed blade of wind that he send flying out of his mouth. The blade sliced one of wood clones in half, while cutting the arm off of another. The one sliced in half produced a large number of white snakes that came at Higure, who began performing another jutsu. "Wind style: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Again, Higure took a deep breath and then exhaled it with enough force to send a giant ball of wind out of his mouth. The wind collided with the mass of snakes that lunged at him, shredding a few of the snakes upon impact before Higure threw his arm downward with two fingers extended. The ball of compressed wind exploded, releasing several more, smaller balls of wind that tore through and ripped the remaining snakes to pieces. Higure looked at the clone that lost its arm, noticing the very slow healing process it was attempting. _'They can heal themselves too, like the First...'_

"Wow," Shion murmured as she watched Higure. The young Priestess was in shock to say the least, never having seen a real shinobi fight in combat before. Shion then turned to Naruto, who was using brute force to keep his enemies at bay.

The blonde laughed as he made sport of his foes, easily avoiding their strikes and projectiles. Naruto formed two shadow clones, one on either side and pulled his arms back. In both hands, Naruto formed a Rasengan, which the two clones took from him by placing their hands over the orbs, turned and slammed the balls of chakra into the guts of two wooden clones.

Naruto stepped back as one clone, who sharpened their arm to a pike, attempted to stab him. Naruto grabbed the wooden arm and broke it off effortlessly before slapping the end of it and shoving it into the chest of the clone. He sprung backwards a few seconds before the explosive tag he placed on the pike went off, consuming the wooden clone and one other in the blast.

"I got two down over here! Two left!"

Higure twirled four shuriken on each finger of his right hand before throwing them forward, followed by four more shuriken in his left hand. "Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!" The shuriken then became encased with wind chakra, turning them into wide, deadly fan-like blades with a razor sharp edge. The first four shuriken sliced through and shredded one clone to multch. Higure pulled his right arm backwards and swung his left to the side. The four shuriken came flying back, slicing the surviving white snakes to pieces.

Naruto's eyes widened a bit as he wondered how Higure controlled the shuriken, before seeing a faint glimmer of sunlight off what he concluded to be razor wire.

Higure's left batch of shuriken shredded another clone before he sent the right batch to cut up the remains. He moved his arms about as the three remaining clones converged on him. One of them began performing hand seals while the other two defended.

"Wood Style: Smothering Binding Technique!" The wood clone's arm transformed drastically, ripping the sleeve and part of its cloak, taking the shape of a tree. The arm then sprouted countless branches which all shot towards Higure.

Higure's fingers twitched as the shuriken came back to him, and he spun all eight of them in front of him as a wall of defense. The wooden roots were cut away, leaving hundreds of wooden chips around the Alliance Commander's feet. Higure then inhaled a little, causing the two defensive clones to lean forward in confusion and shock. Then exhaled sharply, firing a single bullet of compressed wind chakra out from his mouth, past his wind shuriken, that then pierced the clone caster's chest.

Higure then took that moment to spin around as the Wood Style jutsu stopped, swinging the wind shuriken around, and even using the razor wire, to slice through the remaining three clones, and proceeded to continually whip them back and forth, slicing them to pieces to ensure that they and the snakes inside of them were destroyed.

After a few moments of swinging his arms, Higure retracted the shuriken and wire, letting out a sigh of relief as he gave his arms a break. Everyone else, Naruto included, simply stared in awe at what they just witnessed before Higure put his equipment back in his pouch.

"I haven't had to do that in awhile..."

Naruto laughed loudly before jumping in the air, "That was freaking amazing! You've gotta teach me that!" Higure smiled with a huff as he turned to Naruto. His smile vanished quickly, causing Naruto to look at him confused.

"Watch out!" Naruto turned his head and was quickly engulfed in darkness.

"H-hey, who the hell turned out the lights?!" Naruto started to swing his hands around in the darkness, unable to see anything. The blonde eventually hit something hard with the back of his hand, causing him to cringe and hold his hand. "Ow...that felt like...wood?" Naruto's body ran cold with fear before he started pounding on the wooden wall before forming a Rasengan in his hand. "Let me the hell out!" The blonde slammed the orb into the wall, chipping away at it slowly. A thought occurred to Naruto, as he suddenly recalled the white snakes inside of the wood clones. "Shi-," Naruto turned just as he barely saw the glimmer of a small horde of snakes fly at him with his mouth open.

The snakes dove right down Naruto's mouth, causing him to gag as hundreds of tiny creatures filled his body. Naruto fell to his hands and knees when it was done, coughing and hacking furiously, drool spilling out of his mouth as he felt as though the snakes were slithering all throughout his body.

"S-shit..." Naruto went into a coughing fit, curling up into a ball on the ground as he fell on his side, trembling as his strength started to leave him. "G-get the hell outta me!"

"_Hn...it's always something with you, isn't it Uzumaki brat?"_

"Oh sh-shut up," Naruto groaned painfully as his body twitched erratically.

"_First the little sword boy gets on your nerves, now you swallow a horde of snakes. Consider my helping you here a gift,"_ the Kyuubi said with a dark, brooding voice. _"These things are...dangerous, and I don't want them killing you...after all, you die, I die remember?"_

"Wh-what a cryin' shame that would be," Naruto said, forcing a pain ridden grin on his face.

The Kyuubi huffed before it started coursing its chakra throughout Naruto's body, causing his chakra to form a shroud around the boy. Naruto felt his strength returning, but he also felt the snakes still slithering throughout his body.

"_What the...?! These things are taking my chakra!"_

"Then stop feeding it to them," Naruto shouted angrily. Whether it was his own temper of the fox's influence he wasn't sure.

"_Damn these things! What the hell are they!?"_

Naruto looked up as sunlight hit him following the loud cracking of wood, unaware of his increasingly demonic appearance. Higure's face immediately shifted to worry as he ran towards the boy. "Damn it, now is not the time to be losing control of that!" Shion and Taruho stared in horror as their ally appeared, to them, to be a demon of sorts while Miko simply stared silently.

As soon as Higure stepped inside the wooden dome, several spikes shot towards him. He easily dodged the spikes and tackled Naruto to the ground. The blonde, now having lost control of himself again and seeing everyone as a thing to attack. Higure slammed his hand on Naruto's stomach, tearing through his cloak and undershirt, revealing his bare stomach. Naruto cried out a bit as something gripped his insides painfully.

"_Stop him! He's going to hinder me from killing these snakes!"_

_'You're doing a shit job of it anyway,'_ Naruto angrily shouted back at the demon in his mind.

A seal appeared on Naruto's stomach, and Higure's hand began to glow with chakra, along with the seal on the boy. Higure grunted loudly as he surged his own chakra into the seal, repressing the Kyuubi a little bit. The Alliance Commander's eyes widened a bit as he sensed something else in Naruto's body.

_'Damn it...did those snakes get to him?'_ Naruto roared angrily, catching Higure's attention. The boy threw his fist at the Commander's face, causing him to jerk his head to the side to avoid the strike. The chakra shroud extended its arm, punching a large hole through the top of the wooden prison. Naruto screamed loudly as the Kyuubi was trying to fight to stay in control and kill the snakes, while Higure tried to force the Kyuubi back into submission.

Finally, Naruto's body began shaking hard, as his eyes rolled back up into his head and the Kyuubi's chakra faded all at once. Higure looked on in confusion before the snakes forcibly shot out of Naruto's mouth, landing in a pool of what appeared to be liquid. As Higure, Shion, Taruho, and Miko looked on in disgust and confusion, the wooden dome began to collapse, collapsing away like brittle paper.

The pool of snakes began slithering about wildly before forming together, taking on one singular shape. Higure watched in awe as the snakes combined together from hundreds, maybe even thousands, of tiny creatures into one whole being. The creature took the shape of a young boy, naked with dark, spiky hair. Before its imagine could become complete, a burst of chakra surrounded it, like a brief lighting of a match, before engulfing the being in a dark red chakra shroud, much darker than Naruto's.

"Oh...crap," Higure muttered.

The being lowered its head, four chakra tails moving about behind it as it grew to large, glowing red eyes, pointed teeth, and two large ears, looking like a demonic fox. The creature's eyes narrowed as it let out a low, deep growl with smoke rolling out of its mouth.

* * *

**So, I know I've told some people that I have the next few chapters already written out, just need editing, and whatnot, which is true. So, sorry about not updating more, but I figure from now on I'll try to put myself on a schedule of monthly updates. Shitty, I know, but at least that way I can get ahead of the game with this story.**

**Let me know what you all think of me trying to get a monthly schedule habit worked out. Also, let me know what you all think of the chapter. Hope you all enjoyed ^^**


	8. War in the Land of Swamps

Higure grabbed Naruto and ran towards the exit, "Go! Run now!"

"Come milady," Miko said, grabbing the Priestess's arm before running the opposite way. Shion cried out, having suddenly been yanked away from standing still. Taruho ran with Miko and Shion, though the Priestess's aide was much faster.

Higure got to the exit of what was left of the prison before a large explosion from within sent him flying out. The Commander flipped around and landed on his feet, facing the destroyed area where the demonic clone stood, staring blankly at its surroundings. Higure ensured that the clone wasn't looking before placing Naruto in a safe location and then rushing towards the clone.

He got the clone's attention as soon as he came into sight, and it immediately pursued Higure. _'So that thing is a copy of some sort, of Naruto, and it somehow got some of the Kyuubi's chakra. That means it doesn't have a seal on it anywhere...meaning stopping that demon chakra is going to be a serious pain...'_

The clone growled deeply before launching its arm forward. Higure turned his head and saw a chakra arm flying towards him. The Commander pressed both of his feet against a tree and shot backwards, just above the chakra arm. The Naruto clone snapped its head up with a surprised grunt before Higure flipped backwards and kicked it in the top of the head with enough force to send it crashing into the ground. Higure landed on a tree branch and looked down at the dust that was raised by the clone crashing down below.

Within seconds, another chakra arm shot up at Higure. He jerked his head back, narrowly avoiding the attack before jumping backwards. The clone sprung out from the ground, shocking Higure with a small Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth. The Commander gasped loudly before the clone launched the chakra bomb, which tore through trees and branches with ease before detonating.

The Naruto clone growled as it looked at its destructive jutsu eat away at the forest before it stopped expanding into a violent explosion. The clone's head snapped to the side when it saw something breaking out from the blast. It lunged forward as Higure came into sight, roaring angrily as it pulled back its arms to strike. The Commander flipped backwards as the clone swung both of its arms inward, narrowly missing the Alliance shinobi. Higure looked up at the clone, hanging upside down, before throwing both feet in the air at the clone's chin. The hit landed with a loud boom, releasing a bit of a shockwave from the force alone. The clone growled as it swung again at Higure, who spun around to the side and slapped a paper bomb on its arm. The tag almost instantly exploded, sending the clone spinning and crashing into a tree.

Higure landed on the side of a tree, standing straight up, parallel from the ground. His clothes were a bit tattered, and his hair was more unsettled as he looked at the clone scrape itself out of the tree slowly. _'Physical attacks do next to nothing to it...even explosions don't seem to affect it. This thing is obviously durable...but it's dumb and behaves like an animal...could that be because of the fox's influence?'_

* * *

Kin's eyes snapped open as she felt an overwhelming power spike suddenly. She felt a bit of sweat run down the back of her neck as she wondered where the power came from exactly. Kin turned her head towards the makeshift map she had set up in a grid, wondering what could have caused the power spike.

_'The only ones should be Alliance...they...they wouldn't have sent a Jinchuriki...would they...?'_ Kin scowled and then formed a hand sign. The clone of herself arrived, staring mindlessly ahead. "Go find this power source..."

"There's no need," a voice echoed. Kin turned her head to Yomi sitting in his seat at the front of Moryo's seal. The dark haired man groaned a little as he looked up at Kin, sitting up as a light sweat covered his face. "Moryo tells me the source of the power is a Bijuu..."

"So...the Alliance did send a Jinchuriki," Kin muttered. The black haired girl scowled and clenched her fists a bit. _'Why didn't Orochimaru tell me...?'_

"No..." Kin's eyes narrowed a little more as Yomi closed his. "You said the Kyuubi wasn't in possession of the Alliance, correct?" The black haired girl gasped loudly as what the dark man said clicked in her head.

"The...the Kyuubi Jinchuriki is here?! Akatsuki is here too, damn it!" Kin turned back to her map and formed a hand sign. She waited for a moment and nothing happened before she performed the seal again, exhaling sharply. "What the...where the hell are my wood clones?!" Kin's eyes widened before she looked back at the grid, "They...they couldn't be all destroyed already, could they?!"

"I don't sense the First Hokage's chakra signature anywhere," Yomi stated. Kin scowled, but contained herself, mentally wondering with a bitter tone why he didn't share it sooner. She also couldn't help but wonder what destroyed her clones; Akatsuki of the Allaince. "The Priestess's chakra, reminiscent to that of Miroku's, was used a while ago. Moryo used his powers to see what had happened..."

Kin turned her head, narrowing her eyes a bit as the man's words sparked her interest, "He can...see what happened...?"

"The Priestess's ability allows her to predict the future...those who bear the name Yomi, have the ability to see what is transpiring within a certain range of their location. As such, I've witnessed the destruction of your wooden puppets at the hands of a blonde boy, the Priestess Shion, and a man from the Alliance...a Commander apparently." Kin lowered her head, growling angrily that Naruto and whoever the Commander was defeated her twelve clones. Though it answered her question at least. Yomi sighed, the sound echoing throughout the empty mountain. "As such...there is also a masked man with five shinobi, most of them specializing in the art of the sword...they're from Kirigakure..."

_'The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist...they're here too? How in the world did they get here so quickly...?'_ Kin's mind began to sift through information before she remembered the mention of the masked man. _'Could that be the man Orochimaru warned me about? If so...'_ Kin scowled, clenching the cloth of her pants as everything began to fall apart around her plan. The black haired woman turned to Yomi, who met her gaze calmly. "Could you use your Ghost Army to keep the enemy away...? I'm afraid I didn't calculate such...resistance."

Yomi smirked with a smug look before huffing dismissively. Kin could feel the man's condescension flowing off of him, despite the terrible condition he was in. Yomi opened his eyes as they began to glow red for a brief second, startling Kin ever so slightly. As Yomi's eyes returned to normal, he let out a soft sigh. "The Ghost Army has been sent out as a first line of defense. If you're so worried about your Alliance friends finding out about your involvement, I'll send my forces to stop them so that your forces may attempt to stop this Akatsuki group, and the masked man."

Kin growled a little before trying to think of how to divide her forces before looking back at Yomi, "I was hoping we could handle the masked man and the Kiri forces together...the masked man is allegedly Madara Uchiha..."

Yomi's eyes widened before crying out loudly, once again startling Kin. The man screamed for awhile, his veins bulging as dark chakra shrouded his body. As the man stopped screaming, he lifted his head up, looking panicked and in pain as a dark voice that didn't belong to Yomi spoke through him, "Madara...Uchiha..." Kin shuddered a bit, concerned for her safety before Yomi looked up at her and spoke through his normal voice, "Moryo...will send the Ghost Army to stop them..."

Kin nodded, relieved that Madara was taken care of. Yomi sighed as he leaned back in his seat, placing a hand over his face as he let out a low sigh. Kin turned back to her grid, eyes narrowed and calculating the information presented to her. Namely, Moryo's fear of Madara Uchiha.

* * *

Higure narrowly avoided the Naruto clone's arm as it tore through a tree behind him. The Alliance Commander jumped down to the ground from the treetops, trying to break the clone's line of sight to him, which worked for a few short moments.

"Damn him," Higure cursed. He was nearly out of kunai and other weapons, minus his scrolls, and was running out of ideas quickly. A sphere of light appeared around Higure suddenly, much to his confusion and surprise. "What in the world...?" While Higure was distracted, a powerful force impacted the barrier, pushing it and Higure into the ground, unharmed, a little ways. The Commander looked back as the Naruto clone sprung away, growling angrily at him.

The clone looked around, trying to clearly find the source of the barrier. Higure sensed the chakra signature being similar to Shion's, and began carefully looking for the Priestess. Suddenly, a large purple design appeared on the ground around the mindless clone, startling both it and Higure. Both of them turned and looked towards the side, seeing Shion standing there with her arm outstretched as she began performing a series of odd, one handed ninjutsu seals.

"Sealing Ritual: Commence!" A powerful, invisible chakra then forced itself down on the clone with enough force to restrain its movements. The clone growled menacingly, its glowing red eyes burning on the Priestess who remained firm as she exerted a large amount of chakra to seal the clone. "If you're truly a demon, then I will seal you away forever!" Shion panted heavily, her face covered in sweat as her chakra flowed visibly around her.

Higure narrowed his eyes as he studied Shion, _'She's pushing herself...has she never practiced this jutsu before or what?'_

Several beams of light shot up from the seal below the clone and bound its arms and legs and body. The chakra shroud began to wane, much to the clone's anger as it roared loudly. Shion became startled at this, the sealing jutsu weakening ever so slightly. The clone felt this and then charged a quick Tailed Beast Bomb, faster than Higure or Shion expected. The demonic clone then launched the ball towards the Priestess, which broke the barrier around the seal immediately.

"Shit," Higure shouted as he rushed towards the Priestess.

Shion stared in pure terror as the Tailed Beast Bomb came flying towards her. The Priestess was suddenly grabbed and shielded by someone. She looked up, seeing Naruto holding her with his back turned to the Bomb, much to her shock. The blondes braced themselves before the jutsu went off, exploding in their proximity.

Higure stopped in his tracks, staring in horror, "No..." Miko appeared nearby, looking on in horror.

As the smoke began to clear, Naruto and Shion were revealed to be alive, the latter being completely unscathed. They both seemed shocked that they were both in one piece however, expressing their surprise to one another through silent stares before turning around and seeing a smoking pile of remains behind Naruto.

Shion gasped loudly before moving out of Naruto's arms and running towards the remains, "NO! Taruho!" Naruto's face changed into one of sorrow and regret, watching as Shion sobbed and screamed over the pile of ashes. "TARUHO!"

The Naruto clone growled, seemingly grinning as the Sealing Ritual Shion stared was waning, almost fading completely. As the clone readied itself to attack, the seal suddenly restarted itself just as strong as before. The clone, Miko, Shion, and Naruto turned towards the source of the power surge, seeing Higure holding a hand sign as he pumped his own chakra into the seal.

"How in the world..." Miko muttered in confusion. After examining it quickly, Miko managed to see how he had done it. _'He was able to understand the basics of the Sealing Ritual...and with it, he managed to use his own chakra to hold and strengthen to seal. However, the Ritual can't be finished with anyone but the Priestess's chakra. Surely he must have realized this...'_ Miko turned towards Shion, her expression firm. "Lady Shion! You must finish the Sealing Ritual if we're to have a chance to stop this monster!"

The blonde woman became teary eyed before staring down at the ashes with remorse and longing. A firm hand was placed on Shion's shoulder, causing her to look up at Naruto. "Come on Shion," Naruto muttered, expressing his own sadness towards Taruho's sacrifice. Shion bit her lower lip to keep from bawling as Naruto tightened his grip. "Do it for Taruho!"

Shion stood up and continued her hand signs from before without another word. Naruto stepped back and stared at her while Higure released his chakra from the jutsu. The demonic clone roared angrily in defiance, but could do nothing as the Kyuubi's chakra slowly started to become sealed up within its body. Shion screamed angrily as she put all her might into the Sealing Ritual, completely sealing away the Kyuubi's power.

What remained was a naked clone of Naruto, with darkened, scaled skin, and an odd tail coming out from its lower back. The clone stared at the Priestess angrily as the Sealing Ritual faded from the ground. Defenseless and powerless, the clone immediately turned around and fled into the woods. Shion fell to her knees, again staring at the pile of ashes that was Taruho, and cried softly.

Naruto looked down at the Priestess with sadness, while Higure stared in the direction the clone ran off, and Miko staring at the Priestess. Naruto knelt next to Shion and placed a hand on her back, "I'm sorry Shion..."

The Priestess smacked Naruto's arm away and glared furiously at him, "Don't apologize! It's your fault damn it!" Naruto looked at the Priestess with bewilderment and confusion as she stood up and glared at the Jinchuriki. "You're the one that _thing_ spawned from! You're the one with the demon inside of you that gave birth to that thing! It's your fault you...you son of a-,"

"Lady Shion!" The Priestess was snapped out of her anger as she looked over at Miko, who approached them both. "Please...restrain yourself. Taruho meant a lot to me as well, but that's no reason to blame Naruto."

Shion looked up at her aid with teary eyes before turning away, clenching her hands into fists, "I can't...I just..."

"Naruto, as well as the rest of Akatsuki has only good intentions for you Lady Shion." The Priestess scoffed before glaring back at Naruto. Miko looked at Shion and turned the young lady towards her, making the Priestess look up at her. Miko gave a wary sigh and embraced the Priestess in a firm hug, to which Shion returned, sobbing quietly into Miko's shoulder.

Naruto looked down quietly, his heart weighing heavily with regret as Shion's words and anger struck a cord with him. He felt guilty that he let himself get caught by those wooden clones, and that those weird snakes cloned him and the Kyuubi to create the monster that killed Taruho. Despite the fact that in the back of his mind, Naruto knew that he had no real control over any of those events, the guilt was eating away at him. The blonde clenched his fists and then turned and ran off towards the direction his doppelganger went towards.

Naruto was stopped partway by a firm hand catching his shoulder. The Jinchuriki looked up to Higure who had stopped him, giving a questioning gaze to the younger shinobi. "Where are you going exactly?"

"I'm going to finish that clone of mine," Naruto growled furiously. "There's no way I'm letting it get away with what it's done!"

"It's gone. And Shion sealed the Kyuubi's chakra inside of that...thing. Judging from the complexity of the seal used, that chakra is sealed off permanently." Higure turned his head towards Shion, catching Miko's eye instead as she simply nodded.

"Not unless the Priestess undoes the seal herself...and that clearly won't happen."

Higure nodded then turned back to Naruto, who looked torn between chasing after the clone or not. The Alliance Commander sighed before kneeling down next to Naruto. "Look...I understand what the Priestess said got to you. But she's just upset right now, okay?"

"Right..."

Higure sighed before standing up and crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head to the side, "Hey, I saw that you risked your own neck to save her. That's gotta count for something, right?" Naruto huffed, his expression more dismissive than torn. Higure patted the young man's back, trying to raise his spirits before looking at the two Land of Demon natives. "Come on, if we're going to stop Moryo, we've gotta escort the Priestess right?"

Naruto huffed, his smile growing a bit as he looked up at Higure, "What's this? Alliance and Akatsuki working together on a mission?"

"Oh don't give me that," Higure replied jokingly, poking the boy's forehead. "We worked together before, remember?"

"You were retired then, remember?" Higure huffed before chuckling with a smile while Naruto smiled teasingly at the older shinobi. The Jinchuriki turned and looked towards Shion, who had stopped crying and was whispering with Miko. "I'll make sure that Taruho's sacrifice wasn't in vain...Shion will definitely stop Moryo for good."

Higure smiled and looked down at Naruto. The determined face the boy wore was reminiscent of his mother's, and his eyes were that of his father's. Higure closed his eyes and looked up at the sky above as a breeze picked up, blowing gently against him and Naruto. _'Minato...Kushina...I know that this kid carries your will now...and he'll pick up where we all left off...'_

"Come," Miko's voiced called out as she put her arm around the Priestess. The two shinobi turned their heads towards Miko as she and Shion began to walk. "Moryo isn't far ahead now, we can still end this!"

"On our way," Naruto called out as he ran to catch up with the two girls. Higure put his hands in his pockets before lowering his head and following after the three at his own pace.

* * *

Yomi sighed as he held his hand over his face, eyes closed while Kin watched. The man eventually opened his eyes, staring off into the distance. "The battle is done..."

"So the Jinchuriki was either been captured, or controlled his inner demons," Kin stated. Yomi shook his head and turned towards Kin. He found it pathetic that the girl who prided herself in knowledge in fact knew so little.

"Your little snakes managed to clone the original Jinchuriki." Kin's eyes widened in shock at this. Yomi turned his eyes away and hummed thoughtfully. "It took some of the Kitsune's chakra as well...creating a mindless killing machine in the process."

"The what exactly," Kin asked, raising a curious brow. Yomi sighed before turning his body towards Kin.

"Kyuubi, Kitsune, the demon fox with nine tails carries many different names," Yomi stated. "In the Land of Demons, it is known as the Kitsune. But to Moryo...he's known by a much different name entirely. A more...personal name..."

Kin once again grew curious and crossed her arms, "Do share..."

"Not now," Yomi sighed as his body became relaxed. "For now, I must ensure that all the pieces are in set..." The dark man closed his eyes and sighed, focusing his powers on the Ghost Army and sensing himself how the battles progressed.

Kin realized that from the man's continued sweating, and features shown on his body, that he was in constant pain. What impressed her more was Yomi's ability to accurately foresee events that had transpired. The young girl concluded that Yomi used the ability to see what the enemy was doing, and where they would be heading, and based his tactics off of where the enemy was moving. The only downside Kin saw, was even if Yomi's predictions on where they would be heading was correct, it was still a gamble as to whether or not they would actually show up where they were supposed to.

The young girl's eyes narrowed, glinting as she saw potential with such an ability. She kept herself from using the Body Creation Technique, as she didn't know enough about the clone's potential to haphazardly risk Yomi's anger, and then put him down. In the back of her mind, Kin kept in mind she could also use the Edo Tensei as well, once Yomi eventually died from exhaustion from carrying around Moryo's spirit.

* * *

Yahiko, Itachi, and Kiriya all moved through the forest, before Itachi looked down at something running across the ground. "Naruto!" The Uchiha immediately shot down from the treetops, followed quickly by Yahiko and Kiriya both.

As they landed, they saw a naked boy with spiky blonde hair and a tail running between the trees on all fours. The three Akatsuki members looked confused for a moment before the creature came to a stop. It turned and ran in the opposite direction, showing that it had looked exactly like Naruto.

"What in the world," Yahiko muttered to himself. Just as the boy started running, five figures sprung out into view, all converging on Naruto. Yahiko quickly shot into action, pulling out his sword from on his back and swung at the enemy.

Skillfully, Yahiko managed to block three attackers at once and pushed them all back while the other two moved right past him towards Naruto. Itachi moved towards one man with long brown hair and an unusual sword covered in explosive tags. As the man swung, Itachi rolled around the strike, grabbed the back of the man's shirt, and threw him back away from Naruto. The man stumbled around and stood straight, facing off against Itachi. The last was, wielding a trench knife and a Kiri kunai, blocked and dodged the advanced attacks of Kiriya, before kicking the Akatsuki assassin away a few feet.

"The Seven Swordsmen," Yahiko muttered as he squared off against Kushimaru, Jinin, and Mangetsu. "I'm guessing that Kisame is busy leading the battle on the shores?"

"Well, well, looks like this group is so well informed," Mangetsu replied sarcastically as he held his sword firmly in both hands. "Did Zabuza tell ya that?"

"Mangetsu, be silent," Jinin ordered. "Do not take our opponent lightly."

"Indeed," Kushimaru agreed softly. "To be able to block three of us with one attack...truly you must be a formidable opponent."

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Jinin and Mangetsu both charged Yahiko as the Akatsuki leader braced himself.

He ducked under Jinin's strike, and rolled the man over his back before jumping into the air to avoid Mangetsu's chakra hammer, formed from Hiramekarei. Yahiko snapped his head up, seeing the longsword Nuibari coming at him. He effortlessly deflected the blade with his own sword, performing a back flip at the same time to block a basic swing of Hiramekarei from Mangetsu. The young swordsmen scowled before Yahiko's foot came down on top of his head, sending him crashing towards the ground. The Akatsuki leader turned as Jinin came at him again from the ground and swung the axe end of Kabutowari at Yahiko. The orange haired man bent backwards, narrowly watching as the axe passed over his face. Yahiko came around and planted his feet on the blunt side of the axe and shot towards the ground, slamming the tip of his sword into the ground as he knelt down.

"Earth Style: Earth Dome!" The earth came up and surrounded Yahiko completely in earth. Jinin landed on the ground and then ran towards Yahiko's defense.

"Meaningless! Kabutowari will break through your dome with ease!" Jinin jumped into the air and brought down his hammer, shattering the thick earth like it was made of glass. Inside, Jinin saw Yahiko holding the same pose as when he landed, much to the swordsman's confusion. He soon noticed that there was a hole in front of Yahiko before looking at the one in the dome. A bright light erupted before Yahiko's clone exploded, sending Jinin flying through the air.

Yahiko then came up out of the ground behind Kushimaru and swung his sword at him. The taller man turned and blocked Yahiko's thicker, sturdier sword surprisingly well with his thinner sword. The two swung at one another and blocked the other blow for blow with little to no effort.

Itachi's eyes focused on his opponent's sword as he continually dodged it, slipping back and forth between strikes as his opponent became increasingly frustrated. Jinpachi spun around and surprisingly threw a round-house kick at Itachi. The Uchiha swiftly raised his hand and caught the man's foot before shoving him away. Jinpachi grinned before he slammed his sword into the ground, catching Itachi's immediate attention. He saw the roll of paper bombs unraveling from the sword and into the ground, and immediately started stepping backwards, trotting at a quickening rate.

Itachi was shocked when explosions started happening behind and in front of him, both moving towards him. He quickly jumped to the side, narrowly dodging a large explosion. Itachi looked over and saw Jinpachi in front of him as he swung a kunai at him. The Akatsuki shinobi jumped back, barely missing the strike as it cut across his chest, leaving a faint bit of blood before he distanced himself further. The swordsman laughed as he twirled his kunai around, flicking Itachi's blood off of it as his sword started rolling the roll of paper bombs back up. Itachi glared at the man as he began to perform hand seals. Jinpachi put his sword on the ground, leaning against his hip as he began performing his own hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Explosion Jutsu!"

Itachi quickly inhaled and then shot out a fireball from his mouth, sending it towards Jinpachi. The swordsman himself slammed his hand into the ground and then forcefully pulled it upward. Itachi looked down as he felt the ground cracking underfoot. Before he could react, a powerful torrent of water exploded from the ground, launching Itachi into the air. Jinpachi slammed his hand into the ground again, blasting another torrent of water up from the ground to quickly extinguish the fireball Itachi sent.

Jinpachi looked up, seeing a pair of kunai coming at him. He effortlessly blocked them with his own and looked back at the torrent of water that hit Itachi. Before he could get a good look at the water, he felt the presence of someone behind him and swung his sword with all his might. Itachi ducked under the strike and then moved to stab the swordsman. Jinpachi sneered before he brought his own kunai up and stabbed Itachi upward through the skull. He chuckled darkly before Itachi scattered into a flock of crows, surprising Jinpachi greatly.

"Fuckin' genjutsu!" He swung his sword back, sending the whole role of paper bombs flying towards the water torrent where Itachi had just broken free from. Itachi jumped out of the water explosion just as the roll of paper bombs came inside. Jinpachi formed a hand sign, "Blastsword Technique: Cataclysmic Explosion!" A huge explosion went off, managing to catch Itachi in the blast even, and throwing smoke around Jinpachi, and most of the immediate area.

Ameyuri dodged one of Kiriya's hook swords before grabbing the boy's wrist and kicking him in the stomach with two swift movements, forcing him to drop the sword. Ameyuri quickly took the sword and twirled it around mockingly as Kiriya scowled and then charged. The two then moved about in lightning fast movements, striking and blocking the others attack with speed and precision.

Kiriya managed to hook the swords together and then yanked it out of Ameyuri's hand. The kunoichi stood calmly as the boy came back to attack her. She pulled out a Kiri kunai and started dodging and blocking all of the attacks that came at her, keeping his eye on the boy's body movements to predict his attacks. Despite not landing a hit, the young assassin remained calm, attempting to either fake out his opponent, or predict their movements to land a successful strike.

Ameyuri finally swung her kunai, striking it against both of Kiriya's swords. The assassin's eyes widened briefly as his arms went numb, causing him to drop his swords. As soon as they left his hands, Kiriya regained feeling in his arms before he was kicked in the chest by Ameyuri.

The rogue rolled back onto his feet as Ameyuri kicked up both of the hook swords to her hands. She looked at them curiously before twirling them both around in her hands, "Not bad...not my old swords, but they'll do I suppose."

"Those are both mine," Kiriya stated. Ameyuri huffed before placing the hook swords on the ground and leaned forward against them with an indifferent look.

"Well, they're mine now for the time being." The boy scowled before pulling out two tantos, both attached with a thin, leather rope. Ameyuri laughed before twirling the swords around, grinning with eagerness. "You're fairly skilled for not being a shinobi, kid. Maybe if you were an actual ninja, then you could have had potential to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

Kiriya charged forward, releasing the tanto in his right hand before whipping it around his back. Ameyuri spun around and blocked the tanto with her hook sword before thrusting the other one backwards. The rounded, hook end of the sword slammed into Kiriya's stomach, causing him to cough out blood. Ameyuri then spun around and slammed the dense rod of metal into his back, causing Kiriya to slam into the ground. Ameyuri casually walked around the boy, keeping herself at enough of a distance to not be within striking distance.

"These aren't bad tools...though the only lethal end would be the very tips...useful for tearing an enemy open." Kiriya groaned as he started to push himself up. Ameyuri stared at him for a moment before swinging the sword around at the rogue, with the tip aimed towards his chest. Kiriya saw this and quickly pushed himself away, spinning around as the hook simply tore his cloak a little bit. Ameyuri laughed as she twirled the swords around once again. "You're quite the jumpy little bugger. You've got reflexes for a normal person."

"What makes you think I'm not a ninja," Kiriya snapped defensively. Ameyuri laughed softly before examining the swords in her hands before glancing back at Kiriya.

"Well, you couldn't tell the kunai I hit you with earlier was infused with lightning chakra to make your arms go numb..."

"I realized afterwards-,"

"But a true shinobi would have clearly sensed it regardless," Ameyuri stated. "Not only that, but you've yet to use a single jutsu this entire fight. You do realize, I hope, that I've been going easy on you so far." Kiriya scowled before he pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. Kiriya narrowed her eyes skeptically, _'Hm...now what could be sealed in there I wonder...'_

_'I should have enough chakra from her attack to undo the seal...'_ Kiriya placed his hand on the seal and let out a brief surge of chakra into it, causing a cloud of smoke to appear around him.

Ameyuri waited until the smoke cleared. The boy broke through the smoke, armed with what Ameyuri assumed were two swords. She readied herself to block them, until she saw the swords, and barely pulled her head to the side to avoid the strike. In a rage, Ameyuri hooked her swords around the boy's arm, and the back of his neck before throwing him into a nearby tree. Kiriya bounced off the tree and landed on his feet on the ground, twirling two lightning imbued swords in his hands.

Ameyuri grinned, though in reality she looked downright outraged. Her eyes were wide, and one of them twitched as her trusty swords, the twin Kiba blades, were within her reach once again.

"I figure it's only fair," Kiriya said, looking at the two swords in hand. "You take my swords, I take yours."

Ameyuri chuckled lightly, her grip tightening on the handles as her body shook with rage, "You have to the count of three to give those back to me..."

Kiriya twirled the swords around before slashing both of the swords at Ameyuri, releasing two bolts of lightning from them. Ameyuri's eyes widened suddenly before she took both of the blots of lightning with the hook swords in hand. Kiriya seemed shocked that she managed such a feat while Ameyuri simply glared at him.

"Now this is interesting," the swordswoman spoke. "Here I thought you couldn't use chakra...and I didn't sense any lightning affinity in you before...most interesting..."

Kiriya scoffed, trying to keep himself calm as something in his chest gave a slight tingling sensation. _'As long as I've got the Kiba swords, I should be able to keep up and use lightning ninjutsus. I've just got to make sure that my absorption device stays active...'_

Kushimaru, Jinin, and Jinpachi turned their heads when they heard lightning, seeing the young silver haired Akatsuki assassin wielding the Kiba blades. Mangetsu landed next to Kushimaru and Jinin, letting out a soft sigh before turning to his two comrades.

"Hey! Helping out would be nice you know?!"

Kushimaru scoffed before turning to Yahiko and rushing him with his sword in hand. Jinin scowled before following the makeshift leader. Mangetsu then noted that the Kiba swords were in the hands of an outsider. Restraining himself, as he knew his comrades had just done, he turned and followed his two comrades against the Akatsuki leader.

Jinpachi huffed before shouldering his blade and turning towards Ameyuri's battle. "Well, I guess I could join in...no reason for that outsider to have our damn sword after all!"

Before Jinpachi could move forward, Itachi cut him off. The swordsman looked astonished that his enemy survived with little more than some dirt thrown on his face. Itachi moved in close as Jinpachi stumbled backwards, locking eyes with him. Jinpachi tensed up for but a moment before his entire body went limp and he fell to the ground unconscious and drooling.

"That takes care of that..." Itachi narrowed his eyes, looking out into the distance to try and find Naruto. A few dozen meters away, Itachi saw something moving and headed towards that direction, keeping the main priority in mind._ 'Just hold on Naruto...'_

* * *

In the skies, Deidara, Obito, and Konan all turned when they heard a piercing sound of crackling lightning. Konan looked worried, knowing that nobody in the group was a lightning user, but she couldn't see where the attack was. "Damn it...what's going on...?"

"Yo, Uchiha, see if you can tell us what happened!" Obito looked at Deidara for a moment before nodding and activating his Sharingan. He looked around the miles and miles of treetops, but had difficulty pinpointing anything unusual. Deidara sighed before looking around below to try to help. The blonde saw something break out of the trees and was rocketing towards them at an alarming rate. "SHIT!" Deidara moved his clay bird out of the way, only for its wing to be pierced. Konan turned her attention to them quickly as Obito went flying off of the bird by the sudden movement.

"Damn it," Konan shouted as she dove after Obito.

Deidara growled before diving towards the area he saw the projectile come from, readying some clay in his hand. The artist saw another projectile flying at him. He rolled around to the side, narrowly avoiding what he saw was an arrow of some sort. Deidara then pulled out a handful of clay, molded it into dozens of tiny birds, and then threw them forward. The birds flew down towards the ground quickly and spread out over a wide radius. Just as Deidara started closing in on the treetops, several explosions went off around the immediate area the arrows were coming from. Deidara landed on a tree branch, groaning as it shook under his weight before he looked around, fire crackling around the trees and leaves in the area.

"Well, well, this guy is really accurate," a voice stated. Deidara turned his head, looking back over his shoulder as he saw a large young man standing on a tree branch away from him, next to a boy suspended by what appeared to be webs or ropes. "You nearly got me with those explosions..."

"And one of the two of you shits almost hit me with those arrows...twice."

The boy suspended in the air laughed before turning to his companion, "Jirobo, take care of this guy!" The heavyset chunin shot towards Deidara, roaring loudly as the blonde artist readied himself for the two opponents.

Konan reached for Obito as the two went falling towards the ground. The Uchiha looked down, terror gripping him as the ground seemed to be coming closer much faster than he could have imagined. Konan finally managed to grab Obito's hand, and pulled up quickly to avoid crashing through the trees. As they glided over the leaves for a bit, both Konan and Obito dropped down into a safe clearing, both of them letting out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright," Konan asked. Obito nodded before turning his head towards a soft rustling sound. Three figures walked into the clearing, a tall, pale white haired man, a shorter redheaded girl, and a averaged height young man with dark grey hair. "Great...company."

"Those three are the Serpent Five if I'm not mistaken," Obito muttered softly to Konan. The blue haired woman huffed, looking at the three dismissively.

"Then they shouldn't pose much of a threat then...let's finish this quickly Obito."

"I'll handle it," Obito offered, stepping forward in front of Konan. The blue haired woman looked at her comrade in shock, before Obito merely turned around and smiled at her, goggles resting over his eyes. "We've still gotta find Naruto and stop this Moryo thing, right? Can't do that if we spend all our available manpower fighting kids, right?"

"What the _fuck_ did you just say," Tayuya shouted angrily, clenching her fist as her eyes bored through the older man.

"If you're sure you can handle yourself," Konan replied. "They may be young, but they're dangerous enough as it is. They've killed many more people than either of us when we were their age..."

"Are you gonna go look for Naruto, or not?" Konan smirked and then nodded before flying off above the trees with her paper wings. Tayuya and Sakon watched as one of their enemies flew away, while Kimimaro kept his eyes on Obito.

"Are we really going to let her get away," Sakon asked, questioning their leader. "She's a member of Akatsuki!"

"And fighting both of them at once would be more difficult than fighting them one at a time," Kimimaro stated. The pale leader raised his arm and then pointed his finger at Obito, directing his subordinates' attention towards the rogue. "That man is not only of Akatsuki, but he is an Uchiha as well. You're well aware of our Lord's interest in an Uchiha specimen for his own..."

Obito cringed a bit at Kimimaro's wording, "Yuck, make me sound like I'm just some weird lab rat why don't ya?"

"And what if they succeed in stopping Moryo, then what," Tayuya asked.

"As our orders were, Moryo isn't our problem one way or the other," Kimimaro replied calmly as he lowered his hand. "Our only objective is research, and the acquisition of Dark Chakra." Obito's eyes widened in alarm at this. Two white swords came out of Kimimaro's elongated sleeves before he nodded. Tayuya moved towards the back while Kimimaro charged Obito, with Sakon right behind their leader.

"Summoning Jutsu," Tayuya cried out as she bit her thumb and slammed her hand on the ground. A giant cloud of smoke appeared before her, drawing Obito's attention for a brief moment.

The Uchiha focused on the two charging opponents, and easily dodged Kimimaro's initial assault, and spun around Sakon's strike as well, noting that both of their weapons and blows came from an unusual ability of theirs. Obito then shot another glance in Tayuya's direction after the smoke began to clear and Tayuya played a melody from her flute. Obito's eyes widened when he saw three giants come out of the smoke and towards him. The Uchiha quickly launched himself out of the way and landed on a high treetop, looking down at the three chunin.

"Well," Obito stated with a sigh. "This is more difficult than I imagined..."

* * *

In the cave holding Moryo's body, Yomi let out another dark sigh. Kin rolled her eyes before turning towards the man himself, who opened his eyes halfway, looking tired, his body having become much paler since when Kin first contacted him.

"Your...subordinates have made contact with more Akatsuki vermin..." Kin hummed softly, uninterested as she thought quietly to herself. Yomi closed his eyes again, growing tired, "My time here will not be much longer...I...I cannot tell where the Priestess is..."

"That's most unfortunate," Kin stated uncaringly. She tapped her finger against her chin and looked over at her clone, which had been standing in the same spot for over an hour, unfeeling, unmoving, simply waiting for an order of some sort. "It must be nice to be such a mindless creature like that...my clone that is. No need to sleep, eat, or do to anything...a blank slate, so to speak."

"Do you have a point," Yomi asked, his eyes remaining closed. Kin shrugged and then smiled, looking over at Yomi.

"Well...you're not much longer in this world, as you said yourself...and that clone is simply nothing, so to speak." Kin sneered, placing a hand on the side of her cheek and stared at Yomi. The dark man opened his eyes, glaring intensely at the young woman. One look in the devilish woman's eyes, and Yomi knew what she was planning. "A perfect avatar for a dark being in need of a new vessel..."

"You dare to suggest that-," Yomi was silenced when his chest exploded open, as a large mass of darkness shot out. Yomi cried out in pain as the darkness came out of him and then went straight towards Kin's clone. The lifeless husk was completely covered by darkness as its body absorbed the darkness that washed over it, until the darkness was completely absorbed into it.

Kin smiled as she turned and watched Yomi's lifeless body hit the ground, eyes rolled up in the back of his head and mouth hanging open. Kin chuckled before turning to her clone, which took on a darker look, sporting odd markings and darkened eyes before looking around the cave before looking down at its hands.

"This body is...quite suitable..."

"Most interesting," Kin stated with a smirk. Moryo turned his new head towards Kin with his eyes narrowed on his identical counterpart.

"You're quite the gambler, little girl. How can you be sure I won't betray and kill you now?"

Kin held up her hand and shook her finger at the possessed clone, "Now, now, I have extra reinforcements on my side, which could help to prevent more intruders from reaching you, thus stopping your complete revival." Moryo huffed, relaxing a bit before turning to Kin with his arms crossed. Kin smirked, finding it a bit odd to be chatting with a copy of herself so casually.

"Very well...I would assume that there's something you wanted out of all of this..."

"Simply the body," Kin replied, motioning towards Yomi. Moryo chuckled as he looked down at the lifeless corpse before turning back to Kin.

"The Edo Tensei I would assume. Yomi wasn't much of a shinobi, but I gather you're after his Foresight ability..."

"I figure it could be a very useful ability," Kin admitted. Moryo nodded and motioned towards Yomi's corpse before he took a few steps forward towards the entrance. He looked straight ahead and then closed his eyes.

"I sense...him..." Kin knelt down next to Yomi's body as she unrolled a scroll next to the body. She assumed the demon referred to Madara, confirming her suspicious and worry. While she felt a certain sense of control before, knowing that a man Orochimaru himself feared was on the battlefield caused her to become a bit panicked. "He's...not close...he's chasing your little fox boy clone..."

"The Uzumaki clone," Kin muttered softly. "What in the world could he want with that...?" Moryo growled as his new eyes turned into a glowing red.

"Nothing good..."

* * *

Itachi caught up with Naruto, chasing the boy through the woods with much effort, "Hey, slow down! Naruto, it's me!"

Naruto looked back and barked loudly before turning his head back around, only to be caught forcefully by the throat. The boy gagged and coughed loudly as he was lifted off the ground, clutching to the hand that gripped him. Itachi stopped and gasped in shock, seeing a cloaked man holding his comrade by the throat.

"You're...quite the specimen," the man murmured. A pair of kunai flew at the masked man, but the kunai fazed through him harmlessly, as though he were a ghost. The man turned his head towards Itachi, who glared at him intensely with his Sharingan.

"Put him down..."

The masked man huffed before he looked up at Naruto struggling and gasping for breath. The man turned back to Itachi, "You do realize that this isn't the real Naruto, don't you?" The young Uchiha narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. He realized as much with the tail, and the fact the being was stark naked, but he couldn't be completely sure unless he got a closer look. "This is a clone...a copy of Naruto..." The masked man turned his head back up, staring at Naruto, "He's not the real thing...simply a mindless, uncontrolled beast...filled with nothing but pure, uncontainable anger, a side effect of the Kyuubi's power."

"Put him down," Itachi repeated. The masked man's eye twitched curiously before turning back to Itachi. He laughed softly with a dark tone before moving Naruto out to the side, giving Itachi a better look of the clone.

"I already told you, this thing is nothing more than a clone of Naruto. He has no value to you as an untamed beast."

"And I don't trust what you'll do with him, Madara Uchiha." The man's right eye blazed brightly with the Sharingan at his name, before he laughed softly. Itachi lowered himself as he pulled out a kunai and held it close to himself, keeping both eyes on his opponent. "I'm not letting you take him."

Madara shook his head before turning back to the Naruto clone. A strange power came out of the man's right eye-hole of his mask, that quickly sucked up the clone. Itachi gasped in shock as he watched helplessly as the clone vanished from sight, into Madara's mask. The man laughed and turned his head towards Itachi, motioning his arm outward. "The loyalty Akatsuki shares astounds me to be quite honest. But I've heard impeccable things about you, Itachi Uchiha. Perhaps you would like to show me how powerful you truly are, boy." Madara shot forward, throwing his hand out, and open towards Itachi who barely ducked under the man.

As Madara passed over Itachi, the two exchanged glances, both of their Sharingan burning brightly. Madara's eye seemed pleased, and somehow stared at him mockingly, while Itachi's were angry and defiant of his ancestor. Itachi spun around and faced Madara as he landed on the ground and turned half way to stare at the younger shinobi. Madara chuckled while Itachi clenched his kunai close and readied it once more. A gentle wind blew between the two as the Uchiha clansmen faced off against each other.

* * *

Sakura looked around the area nervously as she followed Anko and Zaku further into enemy territory. While she enjoyed being with her sensei again, she couldn't help but worry about the fact that Rin's idea was to split the entire squad up into two. She looked back over her shoulder as Dosu brought up the rear of the team. She smiled a bit, feeling at ease that at least she was with her old squad again, which was the reason Rin split them apart together. Despite that though, Sakura worried about how well Rin could get Fu to follow orders.

"Do ya hear anything Dosu," Anko asked with a soft, quiet voice. The masked boy shook his head, shifting his eyes back and forth.

Anko hummed quietly as she kept her eyes forward. Zaku shifted nervously, not trusting his sensei's quiet hum. The team continued forward before entering a clearing on the edge of a cliff. They looked out into the distance, seeing the mountain less than a stone's throw away. Zaku let out a low whistle as he examined the size of the mountain, his hands on his hips.

"Well I'll be damned," the young chunin muttered. "There's a demon corpse in there somewhere..."

"Great analysis Zaku," Anko exclaimed cheerfully, slapping Zaku on the shoulder. The young shinobi groaned as he rubbed his arm, pouting slightly as he knew his sensei was anything but sarcastic in her compliment. "It's weird that we still haven't encountered anyone yet..."

"Oh we can change that!" Anko and the rest of the team slowly turned their heads as they saw three men in white robes standing before them. On man wearing a bandana over his mouth with white hair chuckled gleefully while one short girl with orange hair grinned, and the last man with blue hair simply stared at his opponents. "You got a lot farther than we expected! I wonder how you got past all our scouts..."

"You mean those shit-trained militia you guys call shinobi," Anko asked, waving her hand about dismissively. "Please, we could take them out without alerting a single one of you bastards, and then keep moving." The three students all glanced at their sensei before looking back at their enemies. It never ceased to shock any of them that Anko could make light of any opponent if she wanted to.

The masked man cackled as he lowered himself a bit, "Really? Well, I'm getting all excited now..."

The orange haired girl chuckled before cracking her neck to the side, "Let's play with them for awhile brothers!" The three white clad shinobi charged towards the Konoha team.

Zaku and Sakura immediately jumped in front of Dosu and charged, with Zaku in the lead. "Freak is mine," Zaku exclaimed as he used his air tubes in his palm to propel himself forward. Gitai gasped loudly before Zaku delivered a powerful punch to his face, sending him flying back. The boy landed on the ground as the masked man went flying, causing both Setsuna and Shizuku go stop and turn to Zaku in shock.

Sakura grabbed the orange haired girl, and smirked at the frightened woman before forcefully throwing her into Setsuna, causing the two to be send rolling along the ground after colliding. Sakura readied herself against the two opponents while Zaku stood, waiting for Gitai to get up.

Anko turned her head, smiling softly at Dosu who had his eyes closed, "You gonna be alright on your own kiddo?"

"You taught me yourself, didn't you sensei," Dosu asked. Anko smirked and nodded before turning back towards her other two students. "Have some faith in them too. It's four versus four, remember?"

Anko laughed softly and nodded, putting her hands in her trench coat that she wore over her jonin vest, "Alright, but be careful if you locate their leader, got it?"

"He won't know what hit him." Anko smiled with pride before vanishing in a blur.

Setsuna and Shizuku groaned as they both started to get up before seeing Anko appear before them. The two were shocked to see her before Anko slammed her forehead into Setsuna's face, breaking his nose and causing him to cry out loudly in pain before kicking him in the chest, sending him flipping over and flying away. The jonin turned to Shizuku and winked before giving chase after Setsuna. The orange haired girl watched in shock as Anko left her alone before turning and seeing Sakura coming at her with a kunai.

Shizuku growled and pulled out her own kunai, clumsily blocking all of Sakura's powerful, forceful strikes. "You can't do much without your jutsus, can you," Sakura questioned as she threw a fist at Shizuku. The orange haired girl ducked and ran under Sakura's strike, trying to distance herself from the enemy. Sakura immediately spun around and gave chase, catching up with her in no time. "If you can't use those jutsu, you're dead on your feet! We got that much studying your lesser followers!" Sakura and Shizuku clashed blades as the former pressed hard against her enemy. "You abuse jutsus, using big, destructive techniques and run out of chakra, and you need to be replenished by your leader!" Shizuku's eyes widened as she gasped in terror before tripping backwards, and stumbling to stay on her feet.

Gitai cackled as he stood up, glaring madly at Zaku, who simply smirked. "So...you Alliance shitheads are good at gathering intelligence eh?!" Zaku shrugged, raising his brows as he did before lowering his shoulders. Gitai chuckled before slamming his palms together, causing the ground to shake beneath him.

Zaku stood calmly, holding his cocky smirk as Gitai built up his chakra, flowing into a dark aura around him. Dosu opened his eyes suddenly and turned towards Zaku as he watched his opponent. "Damn it Zaku, don't let him have a chance to attack!"

"Oh come on, the small fry were barely genin level," Zaku stated, holding his gaze on Gitai. "These guys can't be anywhere near jonin level. Meaning I can have some fun..."

"You idiot! You do know this isn't a game, right?! We're trying to stop Moryo from being revived, not have a pissing contest with the enemy!"

Zaku huffed and stood calmly as his enemy's chakra level increased dramatically by the second. Gitai formed several hand signs before cackling. "Earth Style: Assault from the Land Jutsu!"

The ground began to shake before Gita slammed his hands into the earth. Zaku shifted his eyes as a pillar of rock came towards him. The chunin jumped up and placed his foot on the rock before launching himself backwards, flipping over and looking down at the ground as a spiked rock came up at him. Zaku grinned before spinning to the side in midair, dodging the strike before landing back on the ground. Four slabs of earth came up on all sides of the young boy. His expression changed from smug to alert as the earth came in and crashed around him.

Gitai laughed manically as he brought his hands off the ground, "That'll teach you to take us lightly you stupid kid!"

One of the slabs was then blasted off and flew towards Gitai. The masked man widened his eyes before smashing the earth with this fist, growling angrily as he saw someone stepping out of the condensed earth slabs. "Sheesh, you guys really only do know one style of attack." Zaku stepped out of the earth, his face covered in black, flame like designs as he smirked. Gitai and Dosu both gasped at this, but for different reasons.

"Zaku...you..."

"Anko sensei taught me some tricks, and placed a looser seal on my Curse Mark," Zaku explained, flexing his arms with a grin. "I want to test the limits I can put that seal under."

_'Is that...Dark Chakra like what Lord Yomi uses?!'_ Gitai growled before the earth around him lifted up and slammed together around him. Dosu glared at the enemy while Zaku stared calmly, keeping his mind focused on self control and how much the Curse Mark took over. The earth lowered itself from the small pillar, revealing Gitai covered from the neck down in earth-like armor. The man laughed before he threw his oversized arms forward. "Come on and face me now!"

Zaku lifted a single arm up and caught the rock pillar with one hand. Though he wasn't thrown back by the force, it was enough to push him back, grinding his feet against the ground as Zaku groaned with effort. Finally, he stopped, shocking Gitai that he hadn't taken any damage.

"Slicing Sound Wave," Zaku exclaimed loudly. The boy extended his arm and an odd shockwave was released between his palm and Gitai's earth arm. The pillar of earth then formed several cracks all along its length before exploding outward, revealing Gitai's bare arm closer to his body. The white haired man stared in awe while the black haired boy shook his hand loosely and smiled. "Come on, you can't tell me that's all ya got? Freakin' pansy."

Gitai growled before his armor exploded off, sending projectiles towards Zaku, none of which came close to hitting him. The boy stood still, eyes firm on his opponent as Dosu watched. The masked boy stared at his comrade in silence. _'That's what this is about...you know that although these guys lack any sort of real tactics, that they're powerhouses when influenced by Dark Chakra. You want to see how strong you are with the Curse Mark, and how much control you have over it. I've got to admit, Zaku, you're showing a different side of you than I'm use to. You're never this calm, nor collected...still, if you stay in this form too long...we may have to take some action against you.'_

"Now this _IS_ interesting," Gitai shouted, though more angry than his usual sadistic self. The man held up his bulky arm and narrowed his eyes. "But I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve!" Zaku watched closely as something under the man's arm began to writhe underneath his skin. Zaku cringed with disgust before the writhing creature popped out of Gitai's arm. The man grabbed the odd snake creature and pulled it out, ripping it in half in the process.

"H-Hey, what the hell is he doing...?"

Gitai tore his mask off and held the snake above his head, tilting back and opening his mouth as a strange liquid dripped down his throat after he swallowed. The man laughed before as his chakra once again erupted around him. "Overflowing...overflowing with POWER!"

Zaku and Dosu stood by as Gitai's chakra released blasts of wind from where they stood, gently blowing against them. Dosu scowled before something in the distance caught his eye. In the trees, he saw a bright white spot watching them.

"Zaku...can you handle this...?" Dosu looked to his partner, who stood by silently. The masked boy looked back at the enemy, who began to transform into an odd creature with three faces and several more arms. Dosu scowled and turned back to Zaku, "Can you handle this guy or not?!"

"Yeah, I got it," Zaku replied, turning to Dosu as if he had only just heard him. "Damn 'mom' just go do what you need to do." Dosu huffed, but smiled underneath his mask before nodding.

"Alright...don't lose your head from this, got it?" Zaku rolled his eyes before turning back to Gitai. Dosu gave one last stare to his partner before vanishing in a blur.

The black haired boy watched as Gitai finished his transformation, cackling madly as his eyes focused on Zaku, "Well, come on little man! Let's see what you've got!" Gitai slammed his hands into the ground, sending several flame trails ripping through the ground, all converging towards Zaku. The black haired boy sprung back as they all hit the same area, causing a great, tremendous explosion.

* * *

Miko and Shion came into a clearing with Higure and Naruto right behind them. The four looked up at the mountain right before them, knowing that Moryo and Yomi were inside. Miko turned and looked at Shion, who had her eyes on the ground in despair, but her face was covered in sweat, showing that she was exhausted.

"Could we rest for a few moments," Miko asked, looking at the two shinobi. "Lady Shion is very tired, and needs her strength to seal Moryo..." Higure nodded, and as he did Miko barely caught Shion as the latter's legs gave out. "Lady Shion..." The blonde panted heavily, leaning against her aide for support. Higure motioned for Naruto to follow him as they took a few steps away, out of earshot of Miko and Shion.

"We'll have to watch the Priestess carefully from now on," Higure said to Naruto. "From here on in, I'm not sure what we're going to expect, but they have to have this place very well guarded in my opinion."

"Right," Naruto replied with a nod. The Jinchuriki looked back at Shion and sighed before turning to Higure. "What do you think we'll face up ahead? That Ghost Army?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised we haven't encountered that Ghost Army yet," Higure admitted, looking around the forest. "We're deep in the heart of enemy territory...you would think we would encounter something..."

"Well, there's a squad of Akatsuki members here, plus your Alliance team...maybe they're keeping the enemy busy. I mean, even if they had any contact with each other, they'd be fighting right? But no enemies means that they must be fighting the bad guys. Um...th-the Land of Demon bad guys, not the Alliance bad guys I mean."

Higure rolled his eyes with a smile before patting Naruto's head, "Always the observant one. I just hope that both of our teams can handle themselves without us around." Naruto grinned and laughed at the vote of confidence, before his eyes lowered along with his smile.

"Hey, Higure..." The Alliance Commander turned his head to Naruto, who looked back at him. "Is...is Sakura here...here with you on this mission?"

Higure sighed and nodded, "Yeah...she is." Naruto laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I guess I'm gonna miss her this time around, aren't I?" The Alliance Commander gave an apologetic look to Naruto and sighed through his nose. Before he could say anything, the two shinobi turned their heads as Miko approached them.

"Lady Shion had another vision..."

"Are we in danger," Higure asked, worried.

Miko shook her head, looking down as she spoke, "She saw...not her death, but rather, another's death..." The Priestess's aid lifted her head and stared straight at Naruto. "She saw your death...Naruto..."


	9. Divided

Naruto and Higure both stared at Miko with the same blank, disbelieving stare. They blinked over and over, wondering if what they were told would somehow change before Naruto opened his mouth, "Say what now?"

Miko sighed and looked down at the ground, "Shion had a vision that you would be killed in battle before she could seal Moryo..." Both shinobi looked at each other, Naruto a bit frightened while Higure was worried about the young man. Miko sighed before turning around and staring at Shion, who stared out through the clearing in silence. "This vision is...unusual to be honest though..."

"Why, I thought the Priestess always predicted people's deaths accurately," Higure questioned, eyes narrowed.

"She does...but how her visions work, is the Priestess's soul, when it leaves the body, travels back in time to warn the Priestess of her impending doom," Miko explained, clearly worried. "The only reason she can accurately predict who will die in her place, is in the visions it shows the Priestess who is around at the available time, and she warns her charges of her death and they sacrifice themselves to save her..."

"S-so what, she _tells_ people to die in her place," Naruto asked. Miko sighed and shook her head, giving a soft, apologetic smile to Naruto.

"No, her charges are all very loyal to her, and will gladly give up their lives for Lady Shion's. It's the custom of this land, to give one's life for the Priestess's." Miko closed her eyes and sighed before opening them back up to stare at the ground. "The fact she received a vision...about somebody besides herself being killed is...curious..."

Higure looked at Naruto, who seemed to be a bit more than frightened. The Commander closed his eyes and sighed through his nose before looking at Shion. _'Her future self went through the trouble of sending her soul back to her current self to warn her about Naruto's death...'_

"W-well isn't there something we can do," Naruto asked Miko worryingly. "I mean, maybe I could be somewhere else at the time instead of, well, dying..."

"Where exactly did he die?" Higure turned his eyes from Shion to Miko. His emerald eyes were firm, analyzing the information as best as he could. "And who killed him?"

"Moryo," Miko stated bluntly. This seemed to surprise both Naruto and Higure, simply by the name alone. Miko closed her eyes, trembling softly as she repeated the Priestess's words. "According to Shion...Moryo will be released...and when he is..." The Priestess's aid stared intently at Naruto as she finished her sentence, "You will die, Naruto Uzumaki..."

The blonde swallowed a nervous lump in his throat. Higure closed his eyes, trying to keep himself calm with the recent information, despite the fact his emotions were screaming at him to save the son of his two childhood friends.

"We need to go now then...we need to get the Priestess to Moryo to seal him off permanently before he's released," Higure stated simply. Naruto and Miko turned to him before he looked back at both of them, eyes firm and hardened. "If we can get the Priestess to Moryo and if she can seal him off before the demon is fully revived, then we can easily prevent Naruto's death."

"It may already be too late," Miko stated, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "For all we know, Moryo could already be fully revived. Plus there's no accounting for the fact that maybe the Ghost Army may just be waiting up ahead for us."

"It's a chance we'll have to take. I'll go with the Priestess to confront Moryo instead of Naruto, so hopefully he won't have to sacrifice himself."

"Fate demands that during the time Moryo is confronted, that someone loses a life."

"Then that's just one less asset the Alliance will have on Naruto here," Higure stated, patting the Jinchuriki on the shoulder. Both Naruto and Miko seemed shocked by the Commander's choice of words. Higure's expression, as well as his seriousness on the matter, were indiscernible, causing Miko to question his loyalties.

_'He's an Alliance Commander...but he truly is against the Alliance itself...then why? What could the Alliance possibly have to use against him like this...?'_

"Hey, don't talk like that," Naruto muttered, looking at Higure's hand. The Commander looked down at Naruto, who beamed his blue eyes back up at him. "Sakura needs you if I can't be there." The older shinobi blinked at this before giving a softened smile as he removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder. The Jinchuriki seemed a little bashful about this, a faint pink coloring to his cheeks before he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean come on, you can't be that selfish."

"Alright, alright, _fine_, if you really wanna die in my place Naruto," Higure said, leaving things at that before walking away. Naruto's face fell in shock as he forgot that detail already.

"H-Hey wait, maybe we can talk about this more?!" Naruto chased after Higure while Miko simply just watched the two walk away in silence. Higure laughed and then teased Naruto, who angrily shouted back at him, causing the older man to laugh again.

_'They're on opposite sides of a war...yet these two, Naruto and Higure, act as though they're best friends...they're truly an odd pair.'_ Miko stared walking towards the two shinobi, but continued past them without a word before kneeling down to Shion. "Milady, come, we're moving on ahead." Shion nodded and stood up with Miko's help. The aid walked alongside the Priestess while Naruto and Higure brought up the rear, the former grumbling angrily while the Commander giggled a bit to himself.

* * *

An explosion went off as Rin slid out from the smoke. She turned her head quickly to the left as the smoke broke, and Ishidate came lunging at her. Rin used her forearm and pushed Ishidate's unusual gauntlet away from herself, making sure to avoid direct contact with it, before kicking the man in the side. Ishidate hit the ground and rolled over a few times before slamming his gauntlet into the ground. The man sneered wickedly while Rin gasped as several chunks of rock popped out of the ground, hovering around Ishidate before he launched them forward. Rin held out her arm, and then braced herself before swinging her hand once, slicing through all of the rocks with ease. The medical ninja stood unscathed while the split rocks crashed before her.

Ishidate chuckled as he stood up, flexing his gauntlet, "Quite impressive for the Medical Butcher..."

"I can't tell you how much I _hate_ that name," Rin replied, flexing her hand as her eyes sharpened dangerously.

Ishidate laughed before holding both arms outward, "You were smart that you managed to identify our performance hindering powder, and that you actually avoided it this time along with that Iwagakure woman. However...your green haired friend seems to be a little bit worse for the wear." Rin scowled as she looked over as Fu was sent flying through a thick tree on the shoulder of the muscle bound mercenary, Kongo. Ishidate smirked at the sight before turning back to Rin, "And Karenbana is the most skilled in our group, under myself of course."

"You don't seem all that skilled to me to be honest," Rin stated. Ishidate's eyes narrowed a bit, but he maintained his smile. Rin brushed a loose strand of hair over her ear before glaring daggers at Ishidate. "You and your team are cowards, who have to dull their enemy's senses before actually fighting them. Frequent tactics like that are easy to counter." Ishidate glared at the medical ninja with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Rin returned the stare before pulling out a pair of kunai and twirling them in her hands. "Come on, I'll show you what a _real_ shinobi can do."

* * *

Kurotsuchi clashed her kunai against Karenbana's, watching her movements closely while the shorter woman just laughed while blocking and dodging her attacks. "Oh come on little girl, you've gotta do better than that!" Kurotsuchi huffed and then swung her kunai, which was blocked, before following through with her strike and swung her leg at the girl's head. Karenbana ducked under the strike and trotted backwards, laughing obnoxiously, which made Kurotsuchi want to kill the girl even more. "This is getting boring, I'm gonna end this fight here and now little girlie!"

Karenbana giggled as she formed a hand sign that caused rose pedals to appear around Kurotsuchi. The kunoichi from Iwa looked around in shock as the pedals swarmed around her before she steadied her gaze on her enemy, who started to seemingly become one with the swarm of pedals.

"Obviously genjutsu...interesting..." Kurotsuchi's thoughts were cut short when she received a strong slash across her shoulder. The kunoichi cried out in pain and stumble around before being slashed across the left collar bone, once to the right side of her hip, and then once more on the right side of her torso. Kurotsuchi stumbled back, groaning as her wounds bled profusely now before she pulled out a kunai, "Damn it...she's fast..."

Karenbana's laughter echoed around Kurotsuchi before the little girl appeared before her in the swarm of rose pedals, "And what's best is the performance dulling poison is on my kunai too! Your senses are gonna be slowed down every time I slash you!" Karenbana disappeared into the swarm of rose pedals with her laugh.

Kurotsuchi looked around cautiously, holding her kunai up to defend herself. Out of the rose pedals came a swarm of shuriken from all sides. Kurotsuchi jumped out of the way of most of them, while blocking a few more, but one shuriken grazed her outer left thigh. She landed and skidded across the ground, kneeling as the pain from her fresh wound forced her down. Kurotsuchi then performed hand signs for a ninjutsu.

"Water Style: Water Trumpet!" Kurotsuchi jumped into the air and fired a stream of water from her mouth. The water hit the ground with great force, and slowly spread out from there. Karenbana's laugh could be heard as Kurotsuchi kept the jutsu going.

"Oh, what's wrong? Are you just trying to fire in some stupid attempt to hit me?! Dream on little girl!" A kunai flew out from the rose pedals at Kurotsuchi. She noticed the knife in time and stopped her jutsu, but she didn't have nearly enough reaction time to dodge or block it. The kunai stuck in Kurotsuchi's stomach, causing her to cry out before she went plummeting towards the ground and hit with a hard thud.

"D-Damn it," Kurotsuchi groaned. Karenbana laughed as she once again appeared out of the rose pedals, a wide, stupid smile on her face. Kurotsuchi spat out a mouthful of blood and then started to bring herself up off the ground.

"Is this _really_ all you can do," Karenbana asked, her tone a little disappointed. "Honestly, for the granddaughter of old man Onoki, you're not much of a challenge." Kurotsuchi gasped before snapping her head up at Karenbana. The rogue grinned as she read Kurotsuchi's face with a smug expression. "Oh, what, you expected us to be unaware of our very own enemies? Ishidate, Kongo, and I are all rogues from Iwagakure."

"Yo-you what," Kurotsuchi muttered as blood trailed down the corners of her mouth.

Karenbana laughed and clapped her hands as she vanished in the rose pedals. Kurotsuchi immediately pushed herself up off the ground and tensed up, ready to defend herself. The kunoichi groaned as her wounds pounded painfully at the quick movements, but she stood firm. Karenbana's laugh came from behind, prompting Kurotsuchi to face that way.

"We're rogues from Iwagakure, under your grandpa's rule, way before joining the Alliance! Honestly, Ishidate kept waiting and waiting for Iwagakure to rebel against Konoha and the Alliance, simply so he could join the Alliance to crush Iwa." Karenbana held her stomach and laughed, hunching over as she did. Kurotsuchi scowled, clutching her kunai tightly as the white haired woman went on. "But then your old man died, and Ishidate was so happy! He finally expected things to go how he predicted!" Karenbana stopped laughing and opened her eyes into narrow, dangerous slits as her grin was plastered on her face. "But then, something very unexpected happened...Iwagakure stayed in the Alliance after some touching bullshit from two little girls. One of them Sakura Haruno, daughter of one of Iwagakure's most famous enemies. The other, old man Onoki's granddaughter herself!"

"What's the point," Kurotsuchi questioned before spitting out more blood from her mouth.

Karenbana giggled before pointing at her fellow kunoichi, "Ishidate wanted revenge against Onoki for betraying him. And in the end, _you_ gave him exactly what he wanted!" The white haired woman started to laugh again, which only aggravated the Iwa kunoichi more. "I mean, come on, there was no way Onoki would stay in the Alliance after they attempted to kill him! Nobody expected though, that he would've lost, and then even then his village would have remained loyal to the people who killed their leader!" Karenbana shrieked with laughter, holding her stomach with one hand and planting her other hand on her face. Kurotsuchi growled furiously, tearing up a bit at the rogue shinobi's words.

"Shut the fuck UP!" Kurotsuchi lunged forward and swung at the white haired woman, who immediately exploded harmlessly into a swarm of rose pedals. Kurotsuchi scowled as she looked around, but Karenbana didn't appear anywhere else.

"Why did you stay with the Alliance exactly," Karenbana wondered aloud. A shuriken grazed Kurotsuchi's cheek from behind. The Iwa kunoichi spun around and saw nothing. Kurotsuchi scowled angrily until she felt several sharp pains stick into her right shoulder from behind. She dropped her kunai and fell to her knees as nearly five shuriken stuck into her shoulder. Kurotsuchi cried out softly in pain, clutching her shoulder while blood poured down her back. "Did you do it for that one friend of yours? Sakura? Maybe you never loved dear old grandpa to begin with."

"SHUT UP!"

"Oh come on, we're all curious as to why you convinced the village to stay!"

"Grandfather always told me...the village comes first," Kurotsuchi shouted, staring at the ground as a few tears rolled down her face. She closed her eyes tightly, stopping the tears before reaffirming her beliefs. "He was obsessed with revenge against Konohagakure...maybe he was justified, but he had no right risking the lives of every single person in that village!"

Karenbana laughed again before throwing another kunai at Kurotsuchi. This time, the young kunoichi rolled out of the way, only to see that there was a paper bomb at the end of the knife that exploded shortly afterwards. Kurotsuchi was thrown back by the explosion, and landed hard on her side, skidding across the ground. She groaned and pushed herself up off her right side, her arm now completely numb on that half of her body before Karenbana appeared on the opposite side of the flurry of rose pedals.

"That sounds nothing like the old man or village we knew." Karenbana slowly started walking, visibly, across the flurry of rose pedals, grinning the entire time as Kurotsuchi tried to stand. "Back when we were in the village, Iwagakure was proud of their leader, and many would die for him and his beliefs. That was how warped and brainwashed that village was. Now, you spit on your old grandfather's name by being the cause of working close with the Alliance. Pathetic! You honestly believe you're helping your people like this?! Iwagakure needs to be wiped off the map, as Ishidate wishes!" Kurotsuchi finally managed to get up on both feet, body shaking and trembling from pain and blood loss as she looked at Karenbana. The rogue kunoichi glared at Kurotsuchi, all pleasantries from her face gone. "You'll be the start to how we wiped that stupid village off the map..." Karenbana disappeared in a flurry of rose pedals again, now only silence surrounding Kurotsuchi.

The young woman sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to repress her feelings of guilt that she had tried to bury already. Her breathing became heavy as blood trickled down her back, face, arm, and legs. Kurotsuchi swallowed before opening her hazy eyes as she remembered her father's words to her shortly after the Fourth Tsuchikage was chosen.

* * *

_Kurotsuchi sat in her room, on her bed and stared out of the window as the sun began to set. She heard her mother downstairs cleaning the kitchen after they had both eaten dinner already. It wasn't uncommon for Kitsuchi to be late or held up by something concerning the village before, and even now it wasn't unusual. Kurotsuchi heard the door open, causing her to keep an open ear as she wondered who it was. Judging from the muffled sound of happiness from her mom, Kurotsuchi assumed it was her father. The young woman curled up a bit and stared down at her feet, as she wondered to herself why her father was home so early. Her eyes sunk with depression as she answered her own question with a smart-ass remark._

_After a few minutes, Kurotsuchi's door opened, and her large, burly father stepped inside, "You're stll awake? Your mother thought you would be asleep after your long day." Kurotsuchi shrugged, forcing a smile as she looked over at her father._

"_Well, really preparing supplies and scouting missions aren't too terribly difficult father. I'm tired, just not...sleepy." Kitsuchi nodded, though his eyes narrowed skeptically. Kurotsuchi had never before known her father to accept such a half-assed response before in her life. "If mom wants me to help clean the kitchen, I can..."_

"_No, don't worry about that," Kitsuchi stated. "I'll be eating and messing it up again anyway. No need for you to get out of bed." Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes and threw her legs over the edge of the bed._

"_Just because I'm in pajamas doesn't mean I'm in bed or anything..." Kitsuchi sighed and gave a firm, yet somehow soft stare at Kurotsuchi. The young woman lowered her head and nodded before turning back into bed, curling up into a ball._

_Kitsuchi groaned and rubbed the back of his head, looking to the side. Kurotsuchi turned to her father and saw this, her heart skipping a beat out of shock. She had never known her father to look so unsure or, dare she even think it, nervous before. Kitsuchi looked back at his daughter and lowered his hand, removing his bandana with it as well._

"_Look...I've been meaning to talk with you about...about Onoki..." Kurotsuchi felt as though a knife had been plunged into her chest. Though she put on a face for the public, she was always worried, paranoid about what people truly thought about Onoki's death. Worse yet, she was terrified about what her father must have thought, as he was Onoki's own son and strongest supporter. "I don't want you to blame yourself..." Kurotsuchi gasped softly in confusion. She blinked over and over again before looking up at her father. Kitsuchi closed Kurotsuchi's door and stepped further into her room and then crossed his arms. "I know...I know it must be weighing on your conscious about his death...how your friend was the one that killed him..."_

"_Dad..."_

"_Don't think that just because he was my father that I didn't want to wring his neck when he stabbed you in the back," Kitsuchi exclaimed loudly. Kurotsuchi jumped a bit, tensing up out of fear with her father's tone. Kitsuchi saw his daughter's reaction and groaned before placing his hand over his face. "Sorry...I didn't mean to yell." Kurotsuchi nodded dumbly, not sure exactly how to respond. Kitsuchi grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it towards him before sitting down across from his daughter. "Look...you're my daughter, and I feel I raised you right...so I'm going to be honest with you Kurotsuchi."_

"_Oh crap," Kurotsuchi said to herself, barely even a whisper in volume._

"_When Onoki...betrayed you, like I said, I wanted to kill him myself. When that little girl brought you back from the brink of death...well, I can still say I'm not sure how I would express my gratitude towards her. But afterwards...I wasn't sure what to do." Kitsuchi rubbed the side of his head with a groan, looking as awkward as he felt. Kurotsuchi simply watched and stared at her father, simply dumbfounded that they were having a heart-to-heart conversation for once. "Part of me wanted what Onoki wanted...to war with the Alliance. Maybe that's just my stubborn way of thinking, but it doesn't make it any less true. But..Mao spoke truth, that we were oppressed because of my father's lack of cooperation with the Alliance. I still argued against it, but your mother...well..."_

_Kurotsuchi huffed with a smile on her face as she nodded in agreement, "Yeah. She's scarier than you sometimes."_

_Kitsuchi grinned and grunted before turning to his daughter, "She's _definitely_ scarier than me all the time." Kurotsuchi's father shook his head before turning his face back to something more serious. "But, my point is, your mom, as always, gave me her opinion on the state of the village, as a civilian. With my father in charge, your mother had known many people who were poor, homeless, or starving. We were about as good as Sunagakure before they joined the Alliance. She said that after Onoki's death, and the Alliance's willingness to help us, the village has flourished like never before."_

_Kurotsuchi's smile wavered a bit as she looked down at the ground, "So, it's a good thing grandpa is dead..." The young kunoichi huffed and shook her head, depression and guilt washing over her. "What a morbid thought..."_

"_Don't think like that. We are better off with this new age, both shinobi and civilian. Our village is slowly becoming stronger again, and it's all thanks to the example you set for us." Kurotsuchi turned to her father slowly with a curious look in her eyes. "For so long, Onoki led our village properly, in the way our two previous Kage had wished. We were strong, and proud. Now I see we were too proud. After suffering a defeat from the Alliance, we clung to our old ways, and because of it we began to weaken as a village. We were encased in iron, stuck in our beliefs and our way of life, which was exemplified by Onoki's leadership. We were incapable of change. But you..." Kitsuchi sighed, a smile forming on his face. "You inherited your mother's way of thinking...your example broke through the iron encasing our heart and heads, and opened up new possibilities to us. Because of you, Iwagakure will be strong and proud once again."_

"_At the cost of our way of life the village itself was founded on," Kurotsuchi questioned._

"_Now don't start thinking like me. The world is changing, and in order to survive, changes must be made as well to us. We're stones, not mountains, we can't endure an ever changing world on our own. I'm sure if our ancestors had it their way, we'd all still be a bunch of split up ninja clans running around killing each other." Kitsuchi stood up and walked towards his daughter before placing one of his large hands on her head. Kurotsuchi blushed a bit and looked up at her old man, who smiled down proudly at her. "Remember, as a shinobi of Iwagakure, our duty is to make the village stronger. And you have done just that my daughter. Onoki forgot to put the village's interests first instead of his own bitter agendas. Never forget that you have changed us for the better."_

"_I'll try...thank you father..." Kitsuchi nodded before turning around and walking out of his daughter's room. Kurotsuchi smiled to herself, looking down before staring out at the village. "Maybe I should be a little more proud of myself..."_

* * *

Kurotsuchi's eyes hardened as she looked around at the ground. She saw the water from her jutsu earlier had turned the ground into mud basically and smiled. Kurotsuchi then looked back and forth between areas on the ground before she saw a footstep sink into the mud. She immediately threw a kunai with her left hand at the area. A loud, high pitched cry of terror was heard as the kunai flew past the area and stuck into a tree. Kurotsuchi grinned as her plan worked before pulling out three shuriken.

"Oh well look at you," Karenbana shouted angrily, clearly upset at the kunoichi's tactic. "You're still slow as a slug!"

"And you still can't move without my knowing where you are," Kurotsuchi replied. Karenbana screamed angrily before running along the left. Kurotsuchi followed her with a smug smile on her face, causing another furious growl from Karenbana again.

"Well you can't just ninjutsu with only one hand! I've just gotta wear you out and you'll be done for!" Kurotsuchi huffed and then threw the shuriken to where Karenbana would have been, prompting the rogue to slid to a stop, slip and fall into the mud that covered her. "Ew, this is so gross!" The rogue turned to Kurotsuchi who reached into her pouch and pulled out a scroll._ 'I would have been dead if I hadn't stopped...did she already predict her reaction time with my speed just from that one kunai?!'_

"You really shouldn't underestimate Iwagakure's shinobi!" Kurotsuchi bit the end of the scroll and pulled her arm out and tilted her head back, unrolling the scroll as much as she could. Kurotsuchi spun around and threw the scroll up into the air. "Ninja Art: Kunai Rain Shower!" Several dozen clouds of smoke appeared all along the unraveled length of the scroll, and with them kunai were shot out all around Karenbana's location.

"Oh damn it," the rogue shouted as she scrambled about in the mud.

While she was distracted, Kurotsuchi groaned in pain as she lifted up her arm, forcing feeling back into it and causing more blood to gush out of her shoulder and arm wounds. She slowly began to perform hand signs with her right arm trembling as she did, just as the last kunai hit the ground. Karenbana's genjutsu was broken, as she was too focused on dodging the kunai. She panted heavily and looked over at Kurotsuchi, terrified that she had formed hand signs. Kurotsuchi grinned before slamming her hands on the ground as she fell to one knee.

"Earth Style: Earth Dome!" Karenbana's face twisted in confusion before the earth around her lifted up and encased her completely.

"Hey! What the hell?! Let me out if this thing!"

Kurotsuchi limped forward towards the half sphere of earth, panting heavily with each step. When she finally arrived, she pressed her hands against the dome to hold herself up, panting still before taking a deep breath to regain her strength. She formed a single hand sign as she heard dull thuds and screams from Karenbana to let her out.

"You insult me...and my village...that's unacceptable..." Kurotsuchi formed one hand sign and placed her hands on the ground, "Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!" The thuds and cries stopped when four pillars of rock came up from the ground within the dome, and through the top of it, the tips covered with blood. Kurotsuchi fell backwards onto her butt before falling again onto her back, panting heavily as she closed her eyes, letting the sunlight shine down on her. She smiled before opening one eye to gaze directly up at the sun and grinned, "That's one down..."

* * *

Fu screamed furiously as she slammed her fist into Kongo's face, sending the man stumbling backwards. The oversized rogue threw his fist back at Fu, who took it with full force. The two panted heavily, standing across from one another panting and sweating.

"You can take a beatin' for a little girl," Kongo stated.

"You haven't even seen the half of it..."

"_Oh will you just use my damn chakra already?"_

_'No,' Fu shouted defiantly. 'I can take him myself!'_

"_You're not even having a pissing contest! You're letting him beat the shit out of you because you still feel bad about the whole Takigakure incident!"_

_'Shut up you stupid fuckin' bug! I don't need your lecturing!'_

"_Whatever, if you're about to die soon, I'm jumping in whether you like it or not, got it?"_

_'Oh just try it!'_ Fu was punched in the face, sending her flying back and smashing into a tree. The Jinchuriki groaned as she fell to her hands and knees while Kongo chuckled, cracking his knuckles as he approached her. "Damn it," Fu said as she spit out some blood from her mouth.

"_Will you stop having such a fuckin' god complex? There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help you stupid moron!"_

_'When I have to ask _you_ for help, yeah, there's a problem!'_

"_This man is going to kill you! Stop thinking you have to be punished for what happened in Takigakure!"_

_'I could care less about that fuckin' village, or those people who died!'_

"_I know that's not like you Fu, you know that too!"_

The Jinchuriki scowled as Kongo threw his fist at her again. She quickly jumped up and bounced off of the tree and slammed her knee into the man's face, growling as she then used her other foot planted on his head and jumped off of him, landing a good distance away. Kongo spat a bloody tooth and then chuckled again before turning to Fu.

"Come on ya ugly son of a bitch, let's tango!" Kongo shot forward, laughing as Fu rocketed back towards him as well. Fu and Kongo both threw their fists forward at the same time, connecting with one another, causing a crater to form beneath their feet.

Fu screamed as she flipped upwards, slamming both of her feet into Kongo's chin. This did little to stop him as Kongo simply kneed Fu in the back, causing her to cry out loudly before being launched forward. Fu bounced off of her face, and landed on her front before rolling head over heel a few times before coming to a stop.

The Jinchuriki coughed and spat on the ground angrily as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Kongo ran forward at his slow pace, laughing as he charged. Fu groaned with frustration before standing up and turning around.

_'I could beat him if it wasn't for that stupid gas!'_

"_But that gas is in your system, meaning you need help."_ Fu huffed before readying herself on the defensive against Kongo. _"Fu, you've got to stop this! Just because you screw up once or twice is no reason to ask for a beating damn it! Are you really going to let yourself be beaten by this oversized moron?!"_

_'Fine! Just fine! Give me your damn chakra if it'll shut you the hell up!'_

Fu was then quickly covered in a shroud of red, bubbling chakra. Kongo stopped himself and stared in confusion and fear as a tail and two wings of chakra formed behind Fu's back. The Jinchuriki glared angrily at Kongo, her mouth pressed in a firm line, before she shot forward, slamming her fist into the man's stomach. Kongo cried out, blood shooting out of his mouth as Fu's blow broke several ribs and ruptured the man's organs. Kongo was sent flying back through a couple of trees, until Fu came down from the sky behind him. Fu clasped both hands together and raised them high above her head before crying out and slamming them down onto Kongo's head. The impact when Kongo hit the ground caused an enormous crater to form beneath his corpse.

Fu fell to her feet, and as the Nanabi's chakra dissipated around her she collapsed onto her front. Fu panted softly as blood ran down her face, and her body ached with bruises and swells. "I got him," Fu said out loud, directing the comment towards the Nanabi.

"_Yeah, and it nearly killed you...if you weren't having such a pissing contest while allowing yourself to get beaten up-,"_

"I get it, you were worried about me," Fu said, cutting the demon off. The Jinchuriki closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh before drifting off into a light sleep. "Thanks...Chomei..." The Tailed Beast inside of Fu was silent before letting out a soft huff as it let the Jinchuriki take a brief nap.

* * *

Ishidate and Rin clashed before the former bounced back on his feet. He looked out into the forest and scowled bitterly, "Those two idiots...I can't believe that they're dead..."

"Well what do you expect from Amegakure's Jinchuriki, and the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage," Rin asked mockingly. Ishidate's face twitched when he heard Jinchuriki. Rin noted that clearly he wasn't expecting such resistance. The man huffed before turning towards Rin.

"I've got half my payment for this mission, and lost two of my comrades...even the rest of the money I'd receive isn't worth all this." Ishidate threw his kunai on the ground and then turned around, "By all means, move ahead and finish what Yomi started for all I care. My goal is to crush Iwagakure, and I intend to do so, and not by dying in this country!"

"Crush...Iwagakure...?" Ishidate stopped in his tracks before looking up at the sky with narrowed, anger filled eyes.

"Iwagakure, Onoki specifically, betrayed me. We were sent on a mission into the Land of Fire, in an attempt to destroy the Alliance in a long term strategy. Our mission was to destroy an Alliance outpost in the Land of Fire, and what ended up happening is that we destroyed an outpost that Konoha set up for Iwa itself within its own country. Onoki tried to use the situation to blame Konoha for attacking their outpost, but we were captured by our own forces after we discovered the outpost was one of our village's very own. We were brought forth to Onoki, and he had us tried and sentenced to execution. We managed to break free, and I stole this forbidden gauntlet of the First Tsuchikage's for myself." Ishidate turned around, grinning calmly, seemingly pleased with himself before extending both arms outward. "I did many things to get back at Iwagakure. I revealed the forbidden kinjutsu that allows a person to kneed their chakra into substances to Deidara, causing him to go rogue, but he failed to destroy the village. I revealed to the Alliance that Onoki had dealings with Akatsuki, and I succeeded in killing the old man! Now all that remains is to destroy the village itself."

"You're just a revenge driven little brat," Rin stated sourly, clenching her fists. "Destroying Iwagakure would be damaging for the Alliance, and I won't allow you to do that!"

Ishidate grinned as Rin charged him. He slammed his gauntlet into the ground and was immediately swallowed by it. Rin stopped in her tracks and formed a hand seal, attempting to sense Ishidate. The rogue was far off, and moving through the ground faster than she could catch him. Rin turned and then headed towards Kurotsuchi's direction, worried as to why neither she nor Fu were moving.

* * *

Ameyuri skidded back against the ground while Kiriya charged her with her old blades. The swords wielding woman dodged the first strike and used her foot to Kiriya's wrist, and then used the hook sword to block the next strike. Ameyuri spun her body sideways, sending Kiriya sliding back before she landed perfectly on the ground.

"Are you quite done misusing my swords," Ameyuri asked. Kiriya screamed angrily as he slammed both Kiba swords into the ground, sending a shockwave of lightning through the ground. Ameyuri placed both of the hook swords in the ground, absorbing the lightning from the ground into both weapons.

_'Damn it, how is she able to do that?!'_

Ameyuri twirled both swords casually, sending out discs of lightning at Kiriya with each twirl. The assassin swung the Kiba blades through each disc, cutting the lightning in half each time until Ameyuri ran out of lightning charged through her blades.

"You swing the Kiba blades around like they were mere tools," Ameyuri stated bitterly as she walked around the side of the assassin. "You're truly a shameful swordsman. You remind me of my old disciple, Raiga Kurosuki. He was a spineless man, who used the Kiba blades as tools, only utilizing half of their full potential." Ameyuri twirled the hook swords once, causing Kiriya to tense up cautiously. The kunoichi continued walking a circle around Kiriya, eyes on the ground as she paid attention to nothing. "He had the capabilities to be stronger than me, but in the end, he used a coward's tactics to render me helpless, and then took both of my swords from me." Ameyuri turned to Kiriya as she kept walking. "Tell me, who in Akatsuki was it that killed Raiga Kurosuki?"

"Hana Inuzuka," Kiriya stated as he held up the Kiba fangs. "She used these very swords to do it as well." Ameyuri smiled and nodded, looking at the ground as her head swayed back and forth with each step.

"I owe her a favor then if I ever encounter the young lady..." Ameyuri turned to Kiriya, her smile holding as she pointed a hook sword at him. "You though, I can't forgive misuse of _my_ swords. I'll cripple you and leave you for dead when I retrieve them."

"You'll have a hell of a time doing it," Kiriya replied calmly as he lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Ameyuri's smile vanished as her eyes scanned the boy carefully. _'He had no chakra signatures before...and now he's using lightning based attacks...most interesting...perhaps he can absorb chakra somehow like the Chakra Leech can...'_ Ameyuri charged forward, dangerously close to Kiriya. The boy jumped back as Ameyuri swung the swords twice at the boy's chest. Kiriya stumbled back as an X-shaped opened on his shirt and cloak were revealed. Ameyuri tilted her head a bit, seeing an odd object in the boy's chest. Ameyuri grinned as she nodded in understanding. "Ohhh, that explains it then...you have a device in your chest that absorbs and distributes chakra throughout your body...so then the Kiba swords being imbued with lightning chakra, you take what you want and use it for your own. Quite the little thief, aren't you?"

"I simply use what's available to me, and what I can use to my advantage."

"Ah, so a thief and a coward. Quite the combination."

"I've stolen nothing, our organization took the spoils of war after defeating Raiga's so called family," Kiriya explained. Ameyuri laughed and shook her head with disbelief. Kiriya narrowed his eyes angrily, "Not like any of you could talk about being cowards. Nothing but cowards with swords who hide in the mist and strike an opponent from behind."

Ameyuri pointed her sword at Kiriya and shook her head, "Yet I'm here out in the open, attacking you head on. Don't try to goad me. That's the tactic of a true coward." Ameyuri turned and spun her swords in her hands, facing Kiriya. "Enough talking, it's time to reclaim what's mine."

"Very well then!" Kiriya became a blur that appeared in front of Ameyuri.

The kunoichi spun around the forward stab gracefully before slamming the hook around the back of the boy's neck. Kiriya cried out before Ameyuri spun around behind him and pulled the sword back just under the boy's jaw while dropping the other and placing her hand on the back of the boy's head. Kiriya froze, completely still. Ameyuri cooed mockingly and chuckled.

"So you know what I could so easily do to you. Just a little push of your head and pop." The silver hair assassin tremble and growled angrily. Ameyuri simply laughed before kicking one of the boy's knees from the back, causing him to kneel. "Drop the Kiba blades, now." Kiriya stalled for a moment before reluctantly releasing his grip of the blades.

Before they hit the ground, Ameyuri released the hook from the boy's throat and spun around in one fluid motion. She grabbed both of the swords with the hook sword before tossing them up into the air. She quickly kicked Kiriya down to the ground before he could retaliate, and then slammed the hook sword into the ground and then stomped on the bladed hand guard, imbedding the sword into the ground from both ends and ensuring Kiriya's head was pinned to the ground. She stepped on the silver haired boy's head and reached up, catching both of the Kiba swords in her hands, grinning maliciously as she looked at them.

"Oh, how I've missed these..." Kiriya groaned as he grabbed the handle of his hook sword and pushed up with his body, pulling the sword out of the ground. He quickly jumped back and grabbed his other sword before squaring off with Ameyuri. The kunoichi didn't seem to even notice the assassin anymore, too busy marveling her long lost blades. Ameyuri chuckled softly, happily, as the swords crackled with lightning around them. Light flickered across the kunoichi's face as she turned to Kiriya, a bloodthirsty look in her eyes and a wicked sneer across her face. "You still want to play, eh? Fine by me little man."

* * *

Yahiko's chest rose up and down slowly as he stood across from Kushimaru and Mangetsu, both of whom were in about the same condition as he was. The Akatsuki leader had knocked Jinin out awhile ago, and was now faring as best as he could against the two remaining swordsmen.

Their three heads turned when they heard a loud crashing of lightning that shook the ground. Mangetsu and Kushimaru both chuckled darkly, prompting Yahiko to stare at them. "Sounds like Ameyuri has her blades back," Mangetsu stated.

_'Damn it, did Kiriya get those swords from our vault without permission?!'_

"Well, that means she's probably done playing," Kushimaru stated. "It'd be a shame if she showed us up, eh Mangetsu?" The younger swordsman laughed softly before the two turned back to Yahiko.

_'Damn it...stay alive Kiriya...'_

* * *

The group of four arrived at the mountain containing Moryo's body. Higure took point, bouncing around between several large rocks for cover while looking around the area, keeping his eyes and senses open. Behind him, Miko and Shion followed closely in his tracks with Naruto bringing up the rear.

"This is too weird," Higure murmured when everyone moved in on his position. "There's no way that they wouldn't have any defenses here at the entrance..."

"Maybe our groups together are just that good," Naruto asked hopefully. Higure shook his head, unconvinced as he kept looking around.

"They have an entire army...there's gotta be something we're missing..." An odd shockwave rippled off of the rock Higure had his hands on, causing him to stand up and take several steps back. Miko and Shion stared in shock, both of them gasping while Naruto began looking around, seeing that the other large rocks were giving off the same shockwave effect. "Well...that might be what we missed..."

"Is this that Ghost Army," Naruto asked as he formed his hands in the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu seal.

"It has to be," Higure replied as he reached for a kunai. The Commander cringed as he felt nothing but an empty pouch, remembering that he spend all his kunai and most of his shuriken on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the wooden clones after them. "Son of a..." Higure looked up as the stone soldier stood nearly a whole head taller than him. The Commander watched as the soldier raised up a large battle axe and then brought it down towards him. Higure jumped back to dodge the strike, bumping into Shion and Miko. "Damn it, there's not enough room!"

"Take the Priestess," Miko said, pulling Naruto back by his cloak. "You must protect her!"

"Alright, I got it!" Naruto formed four clones, all of which surrounded the Priestess in a circle.

"You all need to get out of here, quickly," Higure ordered as he dodged yet another attack from the stone soldiers.

"Are you stupid or something," Shion shouted angrily, "I'm the only one who can stop Moryo!"

"And it's going to take more than the four of us to take out this big of an army!"

"Watch out Priestess," Naruto shouted. Shion turned her head just as one of the Naruto clones got hit with a giant stone battle hammer. The real Naruto quickly jumped towards Shion and grabbed her, taking the rest of the force from the blow against his back, sending both he and Shion off the edge of the mountain, and plummeting into a lake below.

"Lady Shion," Miko cried out in fear. Higure turned his attention towards the two young blondes flying off of the cliff's edge

"Damn it!" Higure took Miko by the wrist and then ran back the way they came, "We can't fight them here! We have to retreat!"

"We have to save Lady Shion!"

"I know that much," Higure stated, turning his head to the side of the cliff that Naruto and Shion fell off of. _'Please still be alive...Naruto...'_

* * *

Moryo chuckled darkly, catching Kin's attention away from her notes. "There were some...interesting guests. The boy with the Kyuubi inside of him, the Alliance Commander, the Priestess and one of her aids came to stop us."

"Are they coming here, now?" Moryo shook his head, dismissing Kin's worries. The young woman sighed and then went back to her notes. "What about Madara...is he still on his way...?"

"He's been held up by Akatsuki forces," Moryo stated, his smile vanishing in the blink of an eye. "Though the seal will be undone soon...and I won't have to worry about him anymore."

Kin stared at the demon for a prolonged moment, noting the changes his soul inside of the clone had done. The copy of herself was still just as pale as before, but now had odd, dark markings around its eyes and face. The eyes had long since become two glowing red orbs, due to Moryo's power, and the clone's hair had become strung out, messy, and split all over the place. Part of her wasn't sure if it was due in part to Moryo's soul entirely, or if the affects of Dark Chakra were simply that severe.

Kin placed a few tiny pebbles on the grid she drew out before her, deciding to take more direct action herself against Madara, and while she was at it, Akatsuki too.

* * *

Higure and Miko hid on one of the mountain's many crevices on the side, having finally outrun the Ghost Army. Higure's eyes scanned the area closely just in case before turning back to Miko. The woman's features were calm as she stared back at the Commander, expecting a plan of action from him.

"This is ridiculous..." Higure sat down on the ground, resting his arms on his knees. Miko scoffed with disbelief, tensing her arms at her sides and balling her hands into fists.

"This isn't the time to be loafing around!"

"We also can't rush into the enemy's territory blindly without a proper plan," Higure stated as he stared blankly at the ground.

"We could at least look for the Priestess, and for Naruto if we're going to spend time sitting on our asses though!" Higure sighed and then turned on his rear, facing outward at the entrance. Miko stared at the man in upset silence. The Commander moved, slowly standing up to his feet as Miko's eyes stayed on him while he rose up.

"They're both alive. I can sense their chakra," Higure stated calmly. Miko let out a relieved breath, placing her hand over her chest. "Since we're out of the way, Miko, perhaps it's time you explained who you really are..." The Priestess's aid froze before turning her attention back slowly to the Commander, after taking her eyes off him for but a moment. Higure's back faced her before he slowly turned his body halfway to her, staring at her evenly with his emerald eyes. "You're too calm, skilled, and knowledgeable about other lands to simply be Shion's aid...you're clearly a shinobi, or have at least had more advanced shinobi training, the likes of which you couldn't find in the Land of Demons..."

Miko lunged forward, crying out angrily as a kunai flew out of her sleeve. Higure's eyes darted to the kunai before he shot his hand up and grasped her wrist firmly. The aid coiled upwards, pulling her knees up to her chest before throwing her foot at the Commander's face. Higure quickly jerked backwards and grabbed Miko's foot, before she pushed herself against his hand, doing a graceful back flip several feet away from Higure.

"Calm down! I'm not going to reveal any information to Shion or Naruto! I just want to know so we can at the very least _trust_ each other!"

"And why the hell should I trust you?!"

Higure blocked Miko's swing, and quickly disarmed her before shoving the aid away. Miko adjusted her glasses and scowled, clenching her fists with frustration as the man had taken her weapon away. Higure simply stared back at her, displaying no hostility before tossing the knife on the ground between them.

"My niece, my only living relative, Sakura Haruno, is in this country with me on the same mission to stop Moryo." Miko's eyes widened a little, a soft gasp escaping her lips. The Alliance Commander turned his head, shifting a bit anxiously. Miko narrowed her gaze, realizing that Higure was exposing his main weakness to her in a sign of trust. The aide figured that the man was either extremely trusting, or extremely desperate to tell her this. "If you were to take her, hold her hostage, whatever, you'd have me in the palm of your hands." Higure turned back to Miko, his eyes sharp, but showing a twinge of regret. "That's how I was brought out of retirement...Danzo blackmailed me with Sakura's safety and with..." The man sighed again, looking down at the ground. Miko stood in silence as Higure clenched his fists tightly. "With another threat..."

The cave echoed silently as neither Higure nor Miko looked at one another. The Priestess's aide stepped forward slowly, her footsteps soft and silent before she kneeled down, picking up her kunai off the stone floor. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...bring up such sensitive issues." Miko put her kunai away and stood back up, adjusting her glasses and clasping her hands gently in front of herself. "Truth be told, I would very easily do the same for Lady Shion...even if I'm not from this country..."

Higure huffed, growing a smirk on his face before he looked at Miko, "I gathered that much. You're not Alliance though...and you're way too far out for Kumogakure or Kirigakure to care about...I would think at least."

"I was originally Alliance," the woman admitted, a frown forming on her face. "I was used and betrayed one too many times before I fled." Miko turned her head before walking over towards and sitting on a flat rock before looking up at the Commander. "You probably wouldn't have known about me. I was a member of Danzo's Root organization." Higure stared in disbelief when she admitted her former affiliation with Root. Even though the ANBU were under direct command of the Hokage, many people, even in Konohagakure, thought that the Root subdivision of the ANBU was nothing more than a myth. "I was an intelligence gatherer, a spy in all the other countries I could infiltrate my way into." Miko took a deep breath before looking over at Higure, "I fled and found my way into Akatsuki's ranks...I learned their ideals, and eventually grew to share them. I joined the organization willingly, using my vast amount of information from various villages, Konoha in particular, to aid them. I was sent to the Land of Demons as a spy, to gather information and potentially forming an alliance with the country."

"How long have you been here," Higure asked as he soaked in the whole story.

Miko hummed thoughtfully before looking up, "At least a decade I suppose." The Commander's eyes widened in alarm, but the spy seemed to take the fact lightly. Higure had been apart of a few missions where he had to act as a spy, but nothing so long term as this. "I knew Shion's mother, Miroku, and practically raised Shion as one of my own..." Miko huffed lightly, raising a finger up just under her eye, wiping something Higure couldn't exactly see away. "She was my...second adopted child, so to speak. When Miroku died, I sent back information to Akatsuki when I could, but I couldn't leave Shion alone. She may appear to be a cold-hearted, spoiled child, but in reality she uses that to keep people away, to keep herself from getting too attached. For she knew if they did, they would end up dying to save her...like Taruho did. Just like how Naruto will..."

"Don't count that kid out yet," Higure snapped. Miko turned her attention to Higure, who simply stared her down with a confident look in his eyes and a smile on his face. "An Uzumaki doesn't die so easily." Miko gave the man a puzzled look before he made way towards the exit. The spy wondered if there were greater meanings behind Higure's words. Miko stood next to Higure at the entrance and looked to see soldiers from the Ghost Army approaching them. "We'd better get moving," Higure said before heading in the opposite direction. "Good thing these guys are as slow as zombies, right Miko?"

"Wait Higure." The Commander stopped and looked back, at first glancing at the Ghost Army before turning back to Miko. The spy/aid sighed before giving a wary smile and turning to Higure. "My real name is Nono..." She turned and headed towards the Commander before taking the lead ahead of him. "I would like if you could call me as such. I haven't heard my true name nearly as much as I would have liked."

Higure laughed softly before following Nono, giving her a nod of approval, "Alright, Nono it is."

"We should set up a few traps while they follow us," the Akatsuki spy advised. "Thin them out as best as we can before heading back to confront Moryo..."

"I'm sure we can whip up something for these bastards," Higure stated confidently. Nono smiled and nodded before she and her new ally went down the side of the mountain together.

* * *

The surface of the lake broke as Naruto's head whipped back, water droplets flying from his hair as he quickly jumped up onto the water's surface with Shion in his arms. The Priestess was unconscious, worrying Naruto as he quickly ran towards the shore and gently set her down on the ground.

"Oh crap, oh crap, what am I supposed to do here," Naruto asked himself in a frantic panic. He looked up at the mountain's cliff where they fell from and saw no sign of Higure or Miko. "Dang it..." The blonde looked down at Shion's motionless body and swallowed nervously. _'Well...here goes nothing...'_

Naruto leaned down and moved to put his lips around Shion's before he felt a sharp, sudden slap across his face. The Jinchuriki cried out and hit the ground as Shion shrieked and backed away, "You pervert! Trying to take advantage of an unconscious woman like me!"

Naruto growled and sat up, gently rubbing his now red cheek with pain, "I was trying to make sure you could still breathe, you psycho!" The two glared at each other intensely, angry sparks flying between their eyes. Naruto huffed before standing up and walking towards the lake. "Whatever, just get yourself ready to seal Moryo when we gt back up there!"

Shion hardly believed what she had just heard, and stared at the back of the blonde in shock. Naruto mumbled something to himself as he undid his headband and wrung out the water from the cloth as best as he could before taking off his cloak and flapping it about a couple of times.

"Are you insane," Shion questioned, "Don't you remember that you're going to die when we reach Moryo?!"

"That was just one outcome from the future," Naruto replied as he started to twist his cloak as best as he could. "I don't plan to die just yet though!"

"You can't change fate! It's useless!"

"It's not useless," Naruto stated calmly. Shion looked at him, still utterly surprised and baffled by the young man's stubborn refusal to fight against his fate. "You and me, we're going to go into that mountain, and we're gonna stomp on anyone or anything that gets in our way!"

"Stop trying to act like a big hero, you stupid idiot! You can't beat Moryo! On top of that, you can't fight against what has already been predetermined!"

"The future hasn't been written yet," Naruto shouted as he spun around. Shion's eyes widened and her mouth fell agape a little as the boy's damp hair covered what the Priestess thought was an attractive, fairly charming face. She made a small, meek sound and turned away, closing her eyes and showing a stern expression.

"Why do you even bother fighting when you know that you're just going to lose?!" The Priestess felt something close to her now, and gasped as she turned her head, eyes wide with alarm to see Naruto's face inches away from hers.

"It's not pointless! As long as we've got life in us, we're gonna keep fighting, got it?" Shion's eyes widened, her body trembling a bit as she stared deeply into Naruto's eyes, unable to turn her head. Deep inside, she felt hope and confidence well up inside of her.

"W-we can't...M-Moryo is-,"

"Enough about this Moryo guy, alright?" Naruto poked his chest with his thumb and grinned, "If I gotta, I'll just fight a demon with another demon, and then you can seal em both!" Shion let out a soft, alarmed gasp. Naruto's tone and expression gave no sign of doubt or reluctance towards the proposition, which surprised Shion more than anything else.

"H-how...how can you be so confident...wh-when you know there's a chance that you'll die..."

Naruto laughed a bit before standing up, turning his head and gazing up at the crimson sky, "I keep fighting so that I can make the world a better place. Where there won't be any more wars, no more evil beings like Moryo. I want a world where kids can grow up with different lives from mine, alone and hated by everyone just for something I was given with no say in the matter." Shion's body shook as her mind flashed with imagines of her, Taruho, and Miko walking through villages and towns together, while the people avoided her because they were scared of her ability to predict the future. Naruto grinned happily before turning back to Shion, beaming his feelings to Shion. "For a world of peace, I'm willing to fight and fight until I can't fight anymore! I'd lay down my life for that ideal, and for my friends who carry that ideal." The Jinchuriki turned towards Shion, his blue eyes staring into her purple ones as he held a hand out to her, to help the Priestess on her feet. "And I can't beat Moryo on my own...I need your help Shion. I'll protect you no matter what."

Shion trembled a bit before reaching out her hand and placing it in Naruto's. She felt a chill run through her arm. The young man's hand wrapped around her smaller, more delicate hand and pulled her slowly up to her feet. Shion blushed as she stared at Naruto, at he simply smiled back at her.

_'W...what is this feeling...?'_ Shion swallowed nervously and shivered as adrenaline coursed through her body. Naruto tilted his head a bit, now slightly worried because it looked to him as though Shion was having a heartattack.

Impulsively, Shion threw herself onto Naruto, pressing her lips against his. The Jinchuriki tensed as rigidly as stone as the Priestess kissed him. The boy literally had no idea what he was supposed to be doing, if anything by this point. Shion leaned back, unwrapping her arms from Naruto's neck and stepping back, blushing furiously and staring at her feet.

The two stood in an awkward silence, Naruto rubbing his arm, "U-um...wh-what was..."

"I don't know, okay?!" Shion snapped, her heart feeling as though it were breaking apart. She closed her eyes, feeling tears brimming up.

Naruto stepped forward and placed his hand on Shion's shoulder. The Priestess once again lunged at the boy, hugging him close as she cried into his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly. "I'm uh...sorry if I was..."

"You weren't leading me on," Shion said between sobs. "Honestly I could barely stand you up until two minutes ago!" Shion clung to Naruto's wet shirt, tears rolling down her face. The Jinchuriki rested his chin on top of Shion's head, letting her cry all she needed. "I'm so sick of this...I'm so sick of everyone dying for me! I hate it! I hate myself for letting them die!" Naruto's eyes softened as he wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I've lost my mother...so many people who have died in their line of duty...and I lost Taruho too...I can't keep living like this! I can't keep letting people die for me!"

"I'll prove you wrong then," Naruto whispered, holding the crying Priestess against his chest. "I'm going to survive, and we're going to beat Moryo together Shion..."

"Please..." Shion murmured, clinging on and not letting go of Naruto's shirt. "Please don't die...please don't throw your life away for mine Naruto..."

"Nobody is going to die today Shion, I promise," Naruto said. The Jinchuriki's face hardened as he vowed to himself to keep his promise to Shion, and to stop Moryo for the sake of peace. The boy closed his eyes and then composed his face to a more calming expression before stepping back, smiling at Shion. "Come on, the world can't save itself, now can it?" Shion wiped away her tears and huffed, shaking her head.

The young man then turned around and grabbed his still mostly damp cloak before shaking it out and throwing it on his body. He turned around and stood in front of Shion, who gave him a small smile. Naruto grinned and picked up the Priestess, causing her to cry out with shock before Naruto jumped off back towards the top of the cliff. Shion clung to Naruto, burying her head into his chest, feeling safe in his arms. She closed her eyes, praying that he wouldn't die as she predicted.

"We should probably try to find Higure and Miko first," Shion whispered as a suggestion. Naruto nodded as he started to run up the vertical slope.

"There's no way we can do this without Uncle Higure!" Naruto chuckled and then went the opposite way from the entrance where he knew Higure and Miko would undoubtedly be.

* * *

Shizuku and Setsuna panted heavily as they were forced into a corner by the two kunoichi. Anko and Sakura both smirked with a similar, cocky smile. The two white draped shinboi growled angrily before their odd, enhanced features began to fade away.

"I'm out of chakra," Shizuku murmured angrily, clenching her fist.

"I am too," Setsuna said as he fell to his knee.

Anko cracked her knuckles and craned her neck from side to side, "Well, well, well, looks like we just got a couple of liver-lily bitches now!" Sakura huffed before shifting her eyes to Anko. She never really got use to her sensei's foul mouth, but ignored it as she stared at the two in front of her.

"Brother," Setsuna shouted loudly. "We need more chakra!" Anko and Sakura both tensed and looked around, waiting for some form of sound or movement. Both Setsuna and Shizuku also searched for their brother, worried and confused.

"B-brother?! Where are you? We need more chakra!"

"Did he leave them to die," Sakura questioned, staring carefully at any areas that could be used to hide a person. "Or maybe Dosu got him already...?"

"No," Anko stated smugly, with a bit of disgust on her face. "He knows our plan, and isn't taking the bait..." The dark haired woman grinned before pulling out a kunai in her hand and twirling it about in her hand. "I guess we'll just end them here..."

"Right," Sakura murmured as she pulled hard on her leather gloves. The two kunoichi charged their defenseless enemies. Shizukuk and Setsuna stumbled back in fear, both of their faces painted with terror of their impending doom.

"BROTHER!" Sakura slammed her fist into Shizuku's face, releasing a burst of chakra from her the blow. She felt bone crunching under the impact before the orange haired woman was sent flying, crashing through a few rocks before grinding and skidding across the stone ground before rolling to a stop.

Sakura looked at her fist and flexed her hand. She felt the same impact as when she dealt the final blow to Onoki, as if a small bit of chakra was compressed in her hand and then released all at once out of her fist. Sakura clenched her hand into a fist, wondering about the limits of what this technique could grant her.

Anko threw the kunai at Setsuna, who barely dodged. Before he could defend himself though, Setsuna couldn't see Anko at all. He looked down in horror tough, seeing that several snakes were wrapped around his body. A few of the snakes loomed over the man's panicked face, hissing loudly at him before they lowered themselves down on him, mouths wide open as they began to devour the screaming man to death.

Anko flicked a piece of dirt out from under her nail before looking out at the woods, knowing that somewhere in there that the leader of the four was hiding.

* * *

In one of the tree tops, Kusuna crouched in the leaves, seeing the death of his two comrades before huffing indifferently. "You damned fools...you shouldn't have wasted all of your chakra at once..."

"And you should know better than to make a sound," a voice whispered venomously behind Kusuna. The man spun around, releasing a large chakra snake from his palm to bite the masked boy behind him. Dosu groaned and cried out while Kusuna grinned.

"With this injection, you'll be dead within minutes," Kusuna exclaimed gleefully. Dosu erupted in a cloud of smoke before Kusuna's snake was revealed to have bitten a log. "Wh-what?!"

Dosu appeared behind Kusuna, flicking his Melody Arm. The man tensed up, letting out a stifled breath before he fell from the tree branch. The man hit the ground, landing on his neck with a loud, sickening crack. Dosu jumped down to the ground, standing over his target with cold eyes on the corpse to ensure that he was indeed dead. The boy huffed before heading out of the woods to rejoin Sakura and Anko.

The two kunoichi smiled as their masked comrade walked up to them. Sakura ran up to him eagerly before the two stopped in front of each other, exchanging a silent stare. The kunoichi looked Dosu over, ensuring he wasn't hurt. The masked boy gave his partner a confused stare before realizing what she was doing.

"I'm fine," the boy said, "the guy didn't even touch me."

"What about Zaku," Anko asked.

"What about me?" The three turned their heads, seeing a slightly beaten and tattered Zaku strolling up confidently towards them. The boy grinned before crossing his arms, standing tall and cocky, "You really didn't think that that guy would be a threat, did you?" Dosu closed his eyes and shook his head while Sakura giggled and Anko smirked with pride. Zaku rolled his arm a bit before looking back to the mountain. "So, we're off to Moryo next right...?"

"We should have heard from Rin and her group by now," Anko said, putting a hand up to her chin. "Splitting up the enemy was successful...I don't know why they haven't joined us..." Just as Anko finished her thought, an orange flare from the woods popped up, catching everyone's attention. The three younger shinobi stared in confusion, unaware and confused about the meaning of the flare. Anko's eyes narrowed before she started to head towards the signal before stopping herself. "Damn it..." The jonin knew that Rin lit off a flare for help, but they couldn't afford to backtrack at this point with the threat of Moryo being revived. Anko turned her head and pointed to her students, "You three are going to head on ahead! Rin needs help, but we need to know the full situation with Moryo."

"Wait, we're splitting up now," Zaku asked, highly confused. Sakura stared in worry for Rin, Kurotsuchi and even Fu.

"It's not a question," Anko stated firmly. "Dosu is in charge! You three are only going to scout out ahead, but if it looks like Moryo is about to be revived, I want you all to go in there and smash up everything to prevent his revival! You hear me?"

"You got it sensei," Dosu said with a firm nod. The masked boy smacked Zaku's shoulder and motioned for Sakura to follow him as he immediately took charge towards the mountain.

The other two chunin followed him with no arguments. Anko simply smiled again at her students with pride. If nothing else, she taught them cooperation. The jonin turned her head back to the flare and moved to rejoin Rin as fast as possible.

"We're totally gonna smash crap anyway, aren't we," Zaku asked with a grin on his face. Dosu huffed and nodded, much to Sakura's shock.

"Anko said only if Moryo was about to be revived were we to directly intervene," Sakura said, reminding her two teammates of said fact. The two boys looked to Sakura, both of them smirking to her.

"You really think this Yomi guy has just been sitting on his thumbs while we've been screwing around with his guys," Dosu questioned. Sakura sighed, knowing full well that Dosu was right. She just didn't want to risk any of their lives without backup.

"Hey, come on, you know your uncle is likely up ahead too, right?" Zaku smiled calmly before looking up at the mountain ahead. "That's why he was picked for this mission, remember? He's a master of sealing ninjutsu, which is why even without the Priestess, your uncle might have a chance to seal Moryo." Sakura nodded, looking up ahead with her green eyes with worry that her uncle would somehow be neck deep in trouble already.

"Alright," Sakura said firmly. "Let's go break some faces! CHA!" Sakura slammed her fist into her open hand. She received two grins of approval from her teammates as the trio headed towards Moryo's Seal Shrine.

* * *

**Sorry about not updating in June. I got behind, caught up in hecticness, and didn't realize I neglected an update last month. In exchange, I'll update twice in July, this one and then the next chapter. I won't be as many chapters ahead anymore, but that's my fault for not keeping up with my writing. Blame The Last of Us. It's a great game. Addicting, but only because it's great.  
**

**Also, I will say in an effort to kick-start my muse for this story, by the end of chapter 12, I did something I never expected to do for this story. A lotta you fans will be happy, and it's gotten me in the mood to do focus on WoF a lot more lol. It also took my story in an entirely different direction with certain character plots. So, I hope you all will enjoy. And no spoilers until chapter 12 comes out lol.**


	10. Death Defying

Yahiko slid back, a few scratches and dirt covering his face, and his cloak fairly tattered. Across from him, Kushimaru and Mangetsu panted softly. Kushimaru scowled before readying his sword again. _'This is getting us nowhere...'_ Yahiko thought to himself impatiently. The Akatsuki founder looked to the side before quickly resetting his eyes on the swordsmen in front of him. _'There's no way Kiriya can handle Ameyuri Ringo if she has her swords back...damn it, where is Itachi...?'_

* * *

As the two Uchiha lunged at each other, Itachi phased through his ancestor. Madara slowly started to turn as Itachi began to pass through his intangible body. The masked shinobi spun around and reached out to grab Itachi while his back was turned. The rogue ducked under Madara's hand and jumped off. Madara's eye narrowed before he heard something ignite. He looked down and saw a paper bomb that was about to explode. As the bomb detonated, Itachi landed on a large root and turned around, staring around the cloud of smoke for Madara.

As the smoke began to clear, Itachi glanced back at the original position where Madara last was, and saw nothing besides burning earth. _"You're mine now..."_ Itachi fearfully looked down, seeing the orange mask coming out of the ground at him. The young rogue felt himself being sucked away. Fear beat on his heart as instinct kicked in and he performed a series of hand signs, too fast for the untrained eye to follow. A light gasp could be heard behind Madara's mask as Itachi pulled his head back and exhaled all in an instant.

A giant fireball hit the ground point blank, causing an explosion that sent Itachi flying. His cloak was on fire, but he quickly striped himself of it and threw it before landing on a high tree branch. Itachi now had blood running down his face from his hairline, and down the side of his chin from the corner of his mouth. He panted lightly before groaning as he placed a hand to his now aching head.

"Quite impressive..." Itachi scowled and looked across the way to Madara as he warped out of nothingness on the tree across from him. "Also very impulsive. Quick thinking nonetheless."

"So you need to stay solid in order to absorb things," Itachi stated between pants. Madara remained silent as he simply gazed at Itachi. The younger Uchiha had already gathered that much detail from the point-blank blast, and the fact that in the split second before it exploded, Madara stopped his attempts to swallow him. "Those if you're truly Madara Uchiha...shouldn't you have more than just that one ability...?"

"I typically don't enjoy overexerting myself on my foes," the masked man admitted with a shrug. Itachi scowled and clenched his fists.

"Why do you want Naruto so badly?" Once again, Madara stayed silent at Itachi's words. The rogue narrowed his eyes dangerously as he wondered if Madara was simply choosing his next words carefully. Itachi wondered to himself if Madara was after Naruto for a reason aside from the obvious: the Kyuubi.

"Question not the need, Itachi Uchiha. My affairs don't concern you, nor Akatsuki."

"If you're after Naruto, it concerns us a lot actually..."

Madara simply tapped the right side of his mask with two fingers, "As I told you before, that wasn't your Naruto. It was a clone."

"And if that clone doesn't serve your purposes," Itachi questioned. Madara's single Sharingan narrowed threateningly. Itachi saw this, knowing that he was prodding in the right areas to get under the ancestor Uchiha's skin. "You'll be after _our_ Naruto, won't you?" The masked man simply chuckled softly, his shoulders and head shaking a bit as he did. Itachi's eyes never left the threat before him, waiting and anticipating some sort of attack.

Before the masked man could reply, a figure appeared out of the blue, rocketing towards Madara. The figure phased through him and slammed his palm on the base of the tree before jumping away. As soon as the new, third figure was out of range, an explosion went off behind Madara, who didn't flinch in the slightest as pieces of wood came flying through him from his back.

Both Itachi and Madara turned to the new figure to get a better look at them. They wore a long cloak with a hood that prevented them from making out any notable features before the shinobi jumped off into hiding. Madara slowly turned his head to the smoking intention in the tree behind him and hummed quietly.

"The Explosion Style kekkei genkai...?"

Itachi felt someone shoot past him, catching the young man by surprise for not noticing them before. Again, the individual was clad in robes with a hood to disguise their appearance. The new person in question, like the previous one, headed straight for Madara as they clapped their hands together. As soon as they did, three orbs of fire emerged around the top of the individual, catching both Uchiha by surprise. The attacker launched all three orbs at Madara in unison. Madara jumped in the other direction as the three orbs hit the tree, and instead of setting the wood ablaze, the tree itself became dried out and brittle.

"Scotch Style," Madara said, his eye gleaming intensely. "So, the Alliance has made its way here after all...?"

Itachi watched as Madara landed in another tree before turning his eyes to the second attacker, who was already gone. _'What's going on here...those abilities are specific to Iwagakure and Sunagakure...is the Alliance here already?'_

The masked man performed a few hand signs, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" Madara held his hand in the proper position in front of his mask. Though there was no sign of his mouth from what Itachi could see, fire still shot out from a tiny stream, to a much larger wall of fire that easily ate and burned through the forest in an instant.

Itachi watched in awe, his cloak and hair fluttering a bit from the force of Madara's fire jutsu that incinerated the forest in front of him.

Madara's eye narrowed a bit when he noticed his jutsu was stopped and being pushed against by an unseen force. Eventually, two water dragons punched through the fire wall and moved towards Madara. The masked man stopped his jutsu and let out a dismissive breathe before his Sharingan swallowed him in a vortex. The two water dragons hit the tree, splitting it in half and causing it to crash down to the side loudly.

Itachi watched as the water dragons dropped to the ground, chakra no longer shaping them. He looked towards the area the jutsus came from and followed it, guessing that Madara would be heading to that area.

* * *

Kiriya fell to the ground, panting heavily as cuts were seen all over his body, blood running down his face and arms. An odd object in his chest was exposed, having taken a bit of a beating as well from fighting Ameyuri. The kunoichi stared down at her prey for a few silent seconds before kicking the boy's side. Kiriya winced in pain and fell onto his other side before the kunoichi rolled the boy on his back. Ameyuri placed her foot painfully on the assassin's wrist, preventing him from using that arm. Kiriya gritted his teeth as Ameyuri needlessly applied an excessive amount of pressure there.

The redhead tilted her head to the side curiously before gently putting the tip of one of her swords against the object in Kiriya's chest. The boy looked at the sword, his breathing picking up nervously, though his expression showed anger to the young woman. Ameyuri tightened her grip, releasing a surge of lightning chakra through her sword and into the object in Kiriya's chest.

She smiled darkly when the object absorbed her chakra, as she had expected. "Well, now this is interesting..." Ameyuri gently started to trail the tip of the sword up Kiriya's chest, getting it close to his face. The assassin turned away, breathing harder as his eyes fixated intently on the Kiba blade. Ameyuri slowed down a bit when getting the tip of her sword right between the boy's eyes and then raised the blade up above her head. "Let's see how much damage that thing can really take..." Ameyuri raised both hands and swords above her head. The blades crackled to life with electricity, "Thundersword Technique: Thunderbolt!"

A bolt of lightning came down, as if called by the Kiba blades, and struck Kiriya directly in the chest. The boy cried out as lightning coursed throughout his body before all being channeled into the object in his chest. Ameyuri grinned a toothy sneer before chuckling sinisterly. The lightning highlighted the young woman's face, adding a sense of maliciousness as she stared directly down at Kiriya.

"Let's crank the punishment up even more then," the woman whispered sharply. The lightning surged more fiercely in her swords as she began to laugh. Kiriya's body shook painfully as Ameyuri raised her swords to the sky again, bringing down an even larger, more powerful thunderbolt that struck the young man. Kiriya cried out in pain, howling at the top of his lungs as his body was wracked with agony. Ameyuri watched and snickered sadistically as the boy writhed with pain under her. "You're screams are delicious...more!"

Ameyuri twirled her swords around in her hands before stabbing one through Kiriya's hand. The assassin cried out in pain, eyes nearly popping out of his head as he looked in horror at his bleeding, pierced hand. He attempted to reach over to pull it out, still yelling in pain, put Ameyuri pinned his hand to the ground with her foot before piercing the other one with her sword. The boy shrieked louder as the blades felt as hot as fire through his bleeding hands. Ameyuri performed a few hand signs, her eyes as wide and evil as her grin.

"Lightning Style: Call of the Raijin!" The Kiba blades crackled fiercely. Kiriya's body reacting by shaking and spasming uncontrollably.

In the skies above, the clouds became darker, rumbling lightly as if about to storm. Kiriya noticed this and grew concerned, and confused. He looked down at Ameyuri, who had a dark, unsettling chakra flow around her body. The clouds began to rain down around the two combatants, and within seconds began to pour with the booming sound of thunder overhead. Kiriya looked at Ameyuri in horror, but the woman simply grinned at him. Her expression was terrifying, making Kiriya wonder if she was always unhinged.

"Let this be a lesson anyone who attempts to steal from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!" A tower of a lightning bolt came down from the sky, and struck Kiriya directly in the chest. The boy's chest rose and his mouth opened, but no sound came out as his entire body was consumed by the lightning. The bolt continued for less than two seconds before stopping, and the lightning within the Kiba blades vanishing.

Ameyuri's wicked grin vanished as she saw a sweating, panting body at her feet. The kunoichi's narrowed eyes examined the panicking boy closely before looking at the object in his chest. Ameyuri walked around him, standing to Kiriya's right side. She stared down at him and then slammed her foot into the device, causing Kiriya to let out a pained howl.

"You're a speedy little shit, ain't ya boy," Ameyuri asked. "I knew you had chakra stored up in this stupid thing, but I was wondering what you were saving it for." Kiriya panted and growled through his teeth, glaring at the kunoichi with her foot on his chest. Ameyuri huffed, impressed and uncaring to the look she was receiving. "Turns out you were just saving your own ass...I figured you would have saved up for some large scale jutsu, and I would just kill you before that." Ameyuri lifted her foot off Kiriya's chest, letting the boy take in a deep, relieved breath of fresh air before he was kicked right across his face.

Ameyuri reached forward, grabbing both of the Kiba blades and roughly pulled them out of the boy's hands. Kiriya screamed in pain as the blades were jerked out of his hands, causing him to roll over onto his side, his hands pouring blood onto the ground.

"You have no chakra left...and neither do I for that matter. I should kill you on principal with the blades Akatsuki stole from me!" Kiriya looked up, eyes filled with terror and fear. A fear Ameyuri recognized too often as the fear of someone's impending death. The kunoichi huffed and then sheathed her swords on her back, a powerful scowl printed on her face. "However...it would be hypocritical for me to kill you with the Kiba swords as such vulgar tools after my lecturing you. If I were going to kill you, it would have been with a jutsu, not at the tip of a sword."

"C-coward..."

"You can pretend you're not afraid of death, but you clearly are. It's clear that in terms of swordsmanship, I'm your better. And because of that, killing you would have no meaning. You having to live with this failure has oh so much more meaning." Ameyuri smirked and then walked away, passing by Kiriya on the ground.

The assassin rolled over on his back, glaring angrily at the kunoichi, "Y-you just can't face the fact I survived your attacks! You're a coward who doesn't have the will to kill me!"

"Killing you would be all to easy," Ameyuri said as she stopped in her tracks. "Like shooting a wounded animal, or slaughtering a child. But killing you, as a failed assassin, you would have an 'honorable' death." Ameyuri turned her head, snapping her visible eye at Kiriya in a firm glare. "You may think there's such a thing as an honorable death, but that's a lie. There's such a thing as a meaningful death! But there is no such thing as honor in your final moments. I won't kill such a disillusioned child who can't even cast ninjutsus without a chakra absorbing device. Rather, your death will be at the hands of a power you can't use and manipulate, to show you how powerless you really are."

Ameyuri wasted no more of her words and turned her head forward, continuing forward. She knew she had wasted enough of her time on the gutter-snipe of an assassin, and that if any of her companions saw it that they would torment her for killing even a child.

Kiriya struggled to stay conscious, crawling over towards his hook swords that were now far out of his reach. His body burned with pain and anger at his failure, but his mind was focused on staying alive more than anything.

* * *

Yahiko turned his attention towards the sound of booming thunder far off in the forest. A look of worry crossed his face before his two opponents pounced him. The Akatsuki founder spun around, carrying a lot of momentum with him as he turned, and clashed his blade against his three sword wielding opponents. The two swordsmen skidded against the ground a fair distance away. Mangetsu wore a bit of a cocky smirk, something Yahiko noted.

"Uh oh, you guys know what that means," Mangetsu stated. The orange haired rogue had a look of dismay, having already assumed the worst.

"Your friend is dead," Kushimaru said, turning his head towards Yahiko. The lanky swordsman held up his blade, the tip pointing at the ground. "It was a problem for you all to steal swords that belong to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Even worse yet, you have a betrayer in your midst as well..."

"Can't say I blame him, knowing that you all are loyal, blind followers of Madara Uchiha," Yahiko snapped. The Kiri shinobi remained silent as they readied their blades. "Tell me, does your Mizukage know that you all follow Madara Uchiha?" Yahiko's blue eyes shifted back and forth between the pair, trying to read their expressions. Kushimaru was obviously not showing any, while Mangetsu remained stoic. Yahiko's suspicions grew and the gears in his head began to turn. "Or maybe...Madara is working with Yagura..."

"Enough talk," Mangetsu shouted, twirling his two-handled sword around over his head. "Time ta die!"

Yahiko huffed dismissively before doing a small hop off of the ground, and then fell through the softened earth. Both Kushimaru and Mangetsu gave out a surprised breath as Yahiko tunneled through the ground quickly, digging past the two swordsmen.

_'If Kiriya is really dead...then Itachi is on his own looking for Naruto. I can't fight whatever number of Swordsmen are left, and Itachi can't fight them alone either. I need to double check on Kiriya, and then regroup with Itachi, and then find Naruto...'_ Yahiko knew that he would be safe underground, away from both Kushimaru and Mangetsu's abilities. The thought of his other comrades crossed his mind as he burrowed through the ground. _'Konan...please be safe...'_

* * *

Two figures stood in an opening in the woods, arms by their sides, covered in hooded cloaks. Behind the duo was a ravine, with a river full of crystal clear water. "She's having us wait here," one of the figures stated. "I wonder why..."

"To wait for the bastard we attacked...if he survived," the second man, an older one, stated. "The Water Dragon Jutsu is effective for long range attacks, if you can hit your opponent. If not, it's a dead giveaway for your position on the battlefield unless you move fast." The older man turned his head towards the younger one. The younger man now understood that they were essentially bait, a thought that he didn't like, and that made him very nervous for their target to arrive.

A new shinobi arrived, landing on a tree branch high above the two hooded men. They both looked up at the young man with dark hair, wearing a long black cloak with red clouds. The younger man gasped softly, now becoming griped with fear.

"Akatsuki...here?"

Kin, with her eyes closed, fingertips on the grid she set up, close to her two pebbles of Shibuki and Suien, scowled angrily, "You're not Madara..." Kin's eyes opened, narrowed and menacing with anger. "But I can't risk Shibuki ruining my cover!" The black haired woman formed a hand sign, sending a new message to her puppets on the battlefield.

Shibuki and Suien both tensed as they felt darkness overtake their consciences entirely. Their bodies had jolted back tensely, their hoods falling down to reveal their faces, and their blank, lifeless eyes.

Itachi stared at the two in confusion before one man launched himself at the rogue. Itachi easily sidestepped Suien's first strike. The undead shinobi spun around, a kunai suddenly in his hand as he attempted to stab Itachi in the chest. Itachi easily caught Suien's wrist and then 'broke' his forearm with his second hand.

Suien looked at his mangled arm while Itachi took a few steps back to distance himself from his opponent. As the undead shinobi looked at his broken arm, it quickly and easily realigned with no cracks or snaps that were heard. The only sounds Itachi heard was a dry shifting noise, like dry leaves rustling against each other.

Lost in his confusion, Itachi suddenly felt his arms pinned to his body. He looked down and saw what he recognized as the Water Whip Jutsu around his body and snapped his head towards the second figure he left alone. Suien, still holding onto his kunai, stabbed the blade towards Itachi again, striking him in the chest.

Itachi then disassembled into a small flock of crows, flying out from the Water Whip. Suien showed no signs of emotion or shock from this and simply lowered his arm, looking around for his target.

On the ground, Shibuki looked around the forest as well, his arms lowered at his sides now. A figure stepped out from behind a nearby tree and then flashed across the clearing with a stream of light following it. Shibuki looked a bit shocked and lowered his head, seeing that the right side of his stomach was ripped through, and his hand was gone as well.

Itachi turned his head quickly, Sharingan focusing intently as the pieces of Shibuki that lied on the ground started to fall apart, but floated right back up to the young man's body and fixed him just like new. _'What jutsu...is this...?'_

Far off away, Madara sat on a large rock with an arm resting on his knee as he watched Itachi fight the two undead shinobi. "The Edo Tensei. So, Orochimaru is here, eh?" Madara stood up and chuckled softly before turning his back on the battle and began to walk away. Having no other reason to stick around, Madara's vortex swallowed him up, taking him away from the forest.

* * *

Kin growled again, clenching her hands tightly into dense fists. _'Damn it Shibuki...you and Suien together can't even keep up with Itachi?!'_ The black haired mistress let out a soft breath to calm herself down and nodded. "Alright...keep calm, I can handle this." Kin placed her finger on Suien's representative pebble and grinned.

* * *

Suien jumped down from his tree branch and onto the ground. Itachi turned to him, moving his head back between the two former Taki shinobi, waiting for one of them to attack. Suien clapped his hands and then placed them on the ground, bringing up three coffins from the ground behind him.

The coffin lids fell open, revealing three undead Ame shinobi, Hisame, Kirisame, and Musame behind Suien who stood up from the ground. Itachi's eyes widened in horror as he realized the jutsu that was being used. _'The Edo Tensei?! That can't be! Orochimaru wouldn't come out all this way, would he?'_

Hisame formed a few hand signs before holding the last seal. The water from the river came up like an explosion went off, catching Itachi's immediate attention. As the water came down, it started to freeze, becoming snow. The rogue looked in shock, watching as the snow lazily descended to the ground and quickly realized that each flake of snow was giving out a light, white mist, making Itachi's surroundings difficult to see through, even with his eyes.

A strong whip came down and struck Itachi's back, causing him to cry out in pain. The young man stumbled forward, his back stinging and throbbing hard where he was struck. He saw, barely, another whip coming at him and swiftly sidestepped it. Soon, many more Water Whips came from all directions at him. Itachi's dexterity allowed him to bounce back and forth between them, narrowly dodging each one with only his cloak taking a little bit of damage from the strikes.

Itachi quickly performed a series of hand signs and pulled his head back, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The young rogue launched the jutsu in the direction he saw the woman last, hoping that he would hit her and interrupt the jutsu at least. Before he could scarcely finish his thought, he saw a Water Dragon come out of the snow, swallowing his fireball. Itachi, acting quickly, jumped away from the two jutsus just as his fireball exploded inside of the dragon, blowing steam and water droplets around the area.

"Damn it!" Itachi saw before he even rebounded off the ground that the water droplets from the explosion added to the snow fog, obscuring what little visual Itachi had left. _'I need to think fast!'_

* * *

Kin sneered as she moved her pieces into place, as was her goal, "Kandachi's former subordinates alone were nothing, but their teamwork was amongst the best ranking out of the chunin in Amegakure. Hisame's famous Snow Fog Jutsu has been compared to the Hidden Mist Jutsu of Kirigakure. Not only that...but Kirisame's use of the Water Clone Jutsu, and Musame's ability over the shape of his ninjutsus make this trio a dangerous combination, even for you, Itachi Uchiha..." Kin held open her hand, looking at the three remaining pebbles in her hand. A cruel smile crossed the woman's soft lips before closing her fist gently around the pebbles. "And that's not even my entire arsenal."

A disgruntled growl caused Kin to break out of her thoughts and turn to her 'clone' possessed by Moryo. The demon's eyes were narrowed as his body shuddered angrily. "They're running further away..."

"Who," Kin questioned.

Moryo turned towards Kin, eyes narrowed angrily, "The Priestess, Shion, and that Jinchuriki containing Kitsune." Kin hummed softly in understanding. Part of her didn't know why, but she didn't like the Kyuubi being called a Kitsune. She brushed it off as a force of habit. A dark aura surrounded Moryo as his face twisted even more with anger, "I can't let her slip through my fingers this time..."

Kin's face lowered to the ground. Her mind began to search for a solution, as her mission lied with the Seal Shrine around Moryo's body being undone so she could acquire a sample of pure Dark Chakra. She looked at the last pebble in her hand and then placed it on the grind, far away from the others.

"Leave that to me," Kin told Moryo. The demon turned his head to Kin curiously as she began to work, her mind unreadable to him as his was to her. He didn't care though, as long as he was revived and could enact his rule over the world, it didn't matter who he worked with or who he used to meet those ends. Even Yomi, his loyal, obedient slave was simply a means to an end.

* * *

An explosion went off on the side of the mountain, causing a rock slide that send dozens of the statues of the Ghost Army to plummet down the side of the mountain. As the soldiers tumbled and rolled, they broke apart and shattered before falling out of view from Higure and Nono. The two stood back to back, facing out to the Ghost Army that surrounded them.

"Got any more ideas that don't involve destroying the mountain," Nono asked.

Higure chuckled softly before giving a casual shrug, "Mountain smashing is my old friend's specialty." Nono turned her head, catching a glimpse of Higure's eyes. Though it was a brief sight, Nono noticed the small trace of sadness in his gaze. "But no, I have no other ideas that don't involve us burning through chakra using tons of jutsus to stop these guys."

"So, what's the plan," Nono asked, a bit concerned by their limited options. Higure quickly looked at all of his surroundings, seeing only one way out.

"We can either fight these guys and hold them off, or try to rejoin Naruto and Shion. Up to you Nono, but choose fast." The spy turned her head back and then forward, sizing up their enemies. She and Higure discovered that conventional means against the Ghost Army wouldn't do much, and only ninjutsu or sufficient force managed to break them. Nono knew that fighting the Ghost Army with only two would end up in a long, drawn out battle that could be the death of them both. This allowed Shion and Naruto time however, which she knew they needed.

"Let's stay if that's alright with you," Nono finally said.

"Done." Higure shot towards one of the stone soldiers wielding a naginata. The Commander placed his hands on the soldier's shoulder, brought his lower half up and then sent a strong kick at the weapon in the Ghost soldier's hand. The weapon surprisingly broke in half, the blade made of stone getting stuck in a wall.

Higure quickly grabbed the weapon and pulled it out of the wall before slicing through one of the stone warriors. The Commander looked a bit surprised for a moment before staring at the stone item in his hand. "Huh...that seemed to be a lot more effective than I thought."

Nono shook her head and rolled her eyes. _'Men...'_

Higure sprung away from two attacks from the Ghost Army's soldiers before charging at them with the broken naginata. One by one he continually sliced through each soldier with the weapon made from the same stone as the soldiers themselves were forged in.

Nono turned her head as the other half of the Ghost Army approached her. She performed a hand sign and then activated her chakra scalpel blade around her hand. _'I hope we can keep this up long enough for Naruto and Shion to seal Moryo back up...'_

* * *

Naruto, carrying Shion on his back, continued up the mountain, huffing as they had to climb back up a fair bit of it with no sign of Higure or Nono. "Damn it...where are they?"

"Naruto," Shion murmured. The Jinchuriki turned his head curiously as Shion simply stared at the ground. The Priestess sighed, having been thinking solely to herself for the past few minutes. "Maybe we should go stop Moryo now...we can't wait on Higure and Miko if they're being chased by the Ghost Army..."

Before Naruto could reply, both he and Shion heard the sound of approaching footsteps. A man in a hooded cloak came around the corner, his hood obscuring his face to Naruto and Shion. Both blondes tensed up, having enough of their fill from cloaked figures for the day. Naruto slowly released Shion and placed her on her feet before squaring off against the approaching opponent.

The man raised up both of his hands and placed them together, "Summoning Jutsu..." A large cloud of smoke appeared before the hooded man. The smoke trailed out towards Naruto, who stepped back and readied his blade to fight. As the smoke cleared, a giant, shelled creature was revealed, with the hooded man standing on top of it. "Conch King!"

The hooded man performed three hand signs as Naruto turned to get Shion further away from the battle, "Conch Canon!"

Several needle-like projectiles shot out from the Conch King's body pores, aimed in Naruto and Shion's general direction. The Jinchuriki grabbed the Priestess in time and managed to bounce back and forth between the projectiles as they fled.

Kandachi heard Kin's snickering in his head, _"The Jinchuriki can't get away from you, can he Kandachi? Just make sure to capture him alive, and the Priestess too if you can."_

The lifeless husk dismissively huffed before air blew out from it's lower body. The great shelled beast hovered off the ground and then flew after Naruto and Shion in pursuit while Kandachi stood atop the summon, arms crossed over his chest.

Naruto quickly rounded a corner on the mountain's path, his feet skirting right at the edge of a straight drop. Shion clung to her escort and closed her eyes as she felt the wind blowing past her face and legs. "Gotta get you away from that battle...that guy's clam is serious trouble!"

"It wasn't a clam you idiot," Shion corrected, "He said it was the Conch King!" Naruto looked puzzled for a moment as the name rang a faint bell in his head. The blonde knew he had heard that name somewhere before.

Naruto slid to a stop as another figure appeared in his way, wearing an identical cloak to the man he encountered before. The man simply slammed his fist into the side of the mountain next to him. Naruto looked confused for a moment before an explosion went off from the wall behind him. The blonde stumbled around, crying out as the explosion rang in his ears. A stray rock had also struck him in the back of the head, rendering him slightly disoriented as he tried to clear his blurry vision.

A strange, wet strand of something wrapped around Naruto's arm, clenching it tightly as he was pulled back. The blonde cried out again as he was violently pulled the opposite direction by his arm, causing Shion to slip from his hands.

Naruto turned his head around as Shion somehow managed to land on her feet, but was tripping back the opposite direction towards the cliff's edge. The two reached out for each other, eyes wide with horror at what appeared to be Shion's impending death.

The Priestess's heel slipped on the cliff's edge and she plummeted towards the side of the mountain, crying out her guardian's name. "NARUTO!"

"SHION!"

As Naruto began to fight against his restraint, more of the whip-like appendages came out and wrapped around his other arm and both legs, as well as his torso. The man standing on top of the Conch King stared down coldly with undead eyes as his summon pulled Naruto closer to him.

Kandachi and his current partner, Gari, both looked over towards the cliff's edge as Shion fell to her impending doom. The two stood there, receiving no word from Kin to save her, despite their orders to capture the Priestess.

Before Shion hit the ground, a blur of a person had grabbed her in their arms, spinning around in the air to slow their momentum before they hit their bottoms against the stone trail. "OW! Jeez, you're just a bit heavy, you know that?"

Shion didn't bother to take note of her savior before she freed herself from his grip. She tried to climb up the mountain's walls towards Naruto to hopefully save him from their attackers.

"Whoa, hey slow down," Shion's savior said as he grabbed her jacket and forcefully pried her off the wall. Shion then saw the face of the young man who saved her, with dark eyes and spiky black hair. The young man was then joined by a hunched over, masked boy with excessively long sleeves, and a pink haired kunoichi with green eyes. "Calm down, we're here to help alright?"

"My friend, please," Shion frantically, breathlessly began explaining. "He's in trouble! I have to save him!"

"Alright, alright," the black haired boy said, "Where is your friend?" Shion had a powerful urge to hit the boy who had saved her life, but instead pointed up the cliff wall.

"He's up there! We were ambushed!"

The three new shinobi turned their heads up, seeing two cloaked figures standing above them. One of them performed a single ninjutsu seal and caused a cloud of smoke to engulf both of them. When the smoke cleared, both the hooded figures were gone.

"You have very rude friends," the black haired shinobi said jokingly as he put both of his hands on his hips. Shion scowled before she started running along the stone trail, much to the others shock. "Hey! Will you hold still for one minute?!"

"I can't! I have to save Naruto," the Priestess angrily shouted. The three shinobi all tensed up at the name and showed the same look of shock. Shion paused for a moment, noting their reaction and even took the time to notice their Konohagakure headbands.

"You know Naruto," the pink haired girl asked, her tone soft and worried. Shion swallowed a nervous lump in her throat and nodded.

"I-I do. I'm Shion, a-and I also met a Commander of yours...Higure Haruno, he helped my group and Naruto get this far..."

"You've seen my uncle?!" Shion let out a surprised squeak as the pink haired girl practically shot across the distance separating them. "Where is he? Is he with Naruto?!"

"Y-yes, at least he was," Shion replied a bit nervously. "We were separated from each other a little while ago, and we were trying to rejoin them when we were ambushed..."

"We haven't encountered those dudes in the robes before," Zaku stated to Dosu. The masked boy nodded and looked up at the cliff's edge. "Think they're more powerful bad guys than those four chakra-fueled lackies?"

"I don't think so," Dosu replied quietly. "Those four punks in the white seemed to be the cream of the crop...maybe those hooded guys were more mercenaries." Dosu turned to Zaku as their other teammate stared back at them, overhearing part of their conversation. The masked chunin crossed his arms and hummed quietly. "We still don't know how strong those three mercenary shinobi are...but they were strong enough to keep Rin's group from rejoining us."

"They'd have to be pretty strong to capture Naruto," Zaku said, referring to his battle with the Jinchuriki during the Chunin Exams.

"So in other words, we should be careful, got it." Sakura turned back around to Shion, "Can you take us to my uncle? Please Lady Shion?"

"Sakura..." The pink haired girl turned around to Dosu's soft, solemn voice. The masked boy had his eyes closed, while Zaku simply looked away, as if he knew what his partner was going to say. "Our mission is to stop Moryo..."

"But Uncle Higure-,"

"Will catch up with us if he has the mission in mind," Dosu stated. The kunoichi of the group scowled angrily and clenched her fists, upset that Dosu expected her to abandon her uncle.

The two stared intensely between one another. Sakura's eyes were filled with the will to search for her uncle, while Dosu beamed a look of knowing back at her.

"I'm not abandoning my family!"

"Nobody is asking you to do that Sakura," Dosu snapped defensively, "But Higure is a skilled, seasoned shinobi who can handle himself. We have a mission to complete."

Shion stared over at Zaku, who returned the same reluctant, awkward stare. Despite her status as a person of importance, even amongst the Alliance shinobi, Shion felt as though her words wouldn't carry much weight in this decision.

"Dosu..."

"Your uncle is fine Sakura. Have some faith in the old man. You know even if he were with us when this whole group got separated that he would want us to continue this mission to stop Moryo."

Sakura stared intently at Dosu with her green, glimmering eyes. She let out a long and reluctant sigh from her nose and then shook her head. "Fine..."

"I'm sorry Sakura," Dosu said, his tone genuine before he stood up straight. The boy turned down the path and turned his head to look back at the kunoichi on his teammate. "You're making the right choice though. I promise your uncle will be fine." Sakura nodded, regardless of how much she believed Dosu or not. Dosu looked to Zaku, who nodded to him. "Stay close to us Lady Shion...we'll escort you to the shrine to seal away Moryo for good."

Shion nodded as she stood next to Sakura, "And save Naruto..." The kunoichi nodded and then motioned for the Priestess to get on her back, which the blonde complied with. While part of her mind wanted Sakura to be jealous, the pink haired girl presumed that it was Naruto's innate ability to get people to like him is what caused the Priestess to be so determined to save him.

* * *

Kushimaru huffed angrily as he stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground, staring out to the other side of the rapids in the river in front of him. "Damn it...that bastard's trail ends after this..."

"Can you explain to me why I'm carrying the dead weight here?!" Kushimaru turned to Mangetsu, who had been trailing behind, trying to carry Jinin and his sword, all in all was about twice the boy's normal weight. "I'm getting overworked and dehydrated here!"

"Shut up. We lost track of him anyway..." Mangetsu let out a large sigh of relief, grateful he didn't have to walk any farther, before throwing Jinin off his back and dropping Kabutowari on the ground. Jinin groaned angrily when he hit the ground, slowly regaining consciousness. Mangetsu glared and huffed at his partner before putting his hands on his hips. "Oh, NOW you wake up after I've hauled your sorry ass for miles."

"Oh you barely even went a mile," Kushimaru stated coldly. Mangetsu turned and scowled angrily at his senior.

The three swordsmen turned their heads when a fourth member of their group, Ameyuri, joined up with them. The kunoichi grinned happily, still giddy over the retrieval of her swords. Her smile however was chilling, as it even made Mangetsu feel uncomfortable.

"Welcome back Ameyuri," Kushimaru said, looking out into the forest in front of him. Though it was futile, Kushimaru hoped that maybe he would catch some kind of clue to help him track Yahiko.

"Thanks," the kunoichi replied with a sneer. "Where's Madara?"

"_Right here."_

All heads turned to the sound of their leader's voice as he came out of a sudden wormhole. The masked man held an unconscious, or possibly dead, body in his hands before dropping it on the ground. The swordsmen noticed after a closer look that the body was their unconscious comrade, Jinpachi.

"Heh, what happened to him," Mangetsu asked mockingly.

"Sharingan genjutsu," Madara replied as he walked towards Ameyuri. "Come, we've gotten more than we signed up for when we arrived," Madara stated.

The swordsmen stood in front of their master as a vortex opened up from his mask hole and absorbed the four of them. Madara turned to Jinpachi and did the same to him before swallowing himself up into nothingness.

* * *

Moryo's eyes flickered a bit to life. A dark, brooding breath echoed throughout the cavern, catching Kin's attention. Standing next to the black haired kunoichi was a hooded Pakura, who also turned to the demon.

"Madara...has vanished..."

"Well, that's the least of our worries now," Kin replied, the faint sound of a boy struggling gently echoing off the cavern walls.

Kandachi and Gari both entered with a bound and gagged Naruto Uzumaki in tow, and dragged the boy towards the center of the cavern. As the blonde was dropped and hit the ground, he looked up, seeing two identical black haired girls, both around his age look down at him. One of the girls however was very different from the other, as she had paler skin, glowing red eyes, dried out, frazzled hair, scaled skin patches, and a darker aura than the other girl. Naruto shivered gently as the more mangled looking girl knelt down in front of him and grabbed a handful of his spiky blonde hair and yanked up hard on it. Naruto groaned loudly into the gag around his mouth and glared daggers at Moryo.

"Such a defiant little brat...perhaps your demon did a better job of taming you than I realized..." Kin studied the blonde from a distance while Moryo laughed darkly in his face. The black haired kunoichi admitted to herself that the picture of the Jinchuriki she had in her head was vastly different than how he actual appeared.

_'Did this brat really beat Gaara, Kakuzu, and Doto Kazahana...the brat looks like he'd barely be a C-ranking ninja...'_

Kin's eyes shifted a bit as her mind suddenly began to work into overdrive, planning her next course of action while Moryo was distracted. She saw through both Gari and Kandachi that the Alliance team had made it this far, and were likely on their way with the Priestess. She couldn't risk being caught by them, let alone them seeing her usage of the Edo Tensei.

The kunoichi clapped her hands together, causing the three shinobi around her to go lax before they were all encased in separate coffins. Moryo lifted his head up as he noticed this. The demon carelessly dropped Naruto's head on the stone ground, getting a stifled groan from him before standing up and staring at Kin.

"I'm afraid my usefulness in this situation has come to an end Moryo," Kin replied calmly. The name Naruto heard sent a shock of panic through his heart, on top of his blood practically freezing over in terror.

Moryo let out a soft growl as he examined his 'partner' curiously. She no longer had her cocky, arrogant look, and now had more of a somber, quiet expression. "How so...? Can't run the risk of those shinobi outside finding out who you are?" Kin remained silent and stared at the ground. Moryo scowled at the lack of an answer and crossed his arms. "Do you really think it will matter after my revival? All of you, the Alliance shinobi, Akatsuki shinobi, even Madara Uchiha will die!"

The Jinchuriki practically rolled completely over when hearing the last name Moryo spoke. _'You've gotta be freaking kidding me! Even Madara is here?!'_

"Your goals don't interest me," Kin replied truthfully. Her response only seemed to anger the demon further. Kin's eyes darted back in forth in short shots as her mind calculated the probability of her theories. Her expression seemed as though she didn't even know or care about any one else in the room. "You see, there's always this insatiable trend about whenever that boy gets the proper motivation..." Kin turned and looked at Naruto, just as his blue eyes caught her gaze. Kin flashed a cocky smirk, not taking her eyes off the boy. "It seems that whenever he gets a certain motivation...from a certain kunoichi that is, that he becomes an unstoppable force."

Moryo scoffed dismissively, shrugging off Naruto as a potential threat. "Nothing will stand in my way once I am reunited with my body."

"I'm interested to see...just how strong your _Will_ is, Naruto Uzumaki..." Said Jinchuriki only grew more confused and shocked when the woman uttered his name, and how she knew about Sakura. Her words rang through his head again, catching her emphasized word.

Kin then turned to Moryo and smirked before forming a hand sign, "I'm retracting all of my soldiers, leaving you at the mercy of the remaining Akatsuki forces. That's a total of about five S-ranking ninja. And that's not counting the Alliance reinforcements you'll encounter."

Moryo huffed before grinning, matching Kin's look towards him, "As I said before, it will not matter. Once I am complete, and I kill the Priestess, nothing can stop me!"

Kin gave a small nod and then chuckled, "I wish you the best of luck then Moryo..." In the blink of an eye then, Kin vanished before both Naruto and Moryo.

The demon's eyes narrowed as they brightened up and flashed for only a moment. Moryo then began directing his Ghost Army to focus less on the only two shinobi fighting them, to better defend himself until his resurrection was completed. After he was whole, Moryo knew he could simply rebuild his army out of the earth itself.

The demon growled darkly, knowing that he only needed the Priestess who was assuredly on her way to stop him now. A flint of doubt entered Moryo's mind, though he blocked it out as he turned to look at Naruto lying on the ground before him.

"You little creatures pose no threat to me," Moryo whispered, his voice carrying enough presence to cause Naruto to shiver. The demon huffed and glared his glowing red eyes at the Jinchuriki before looking back at the seal that was all that stood between his complete revival.

* * *

Higure slid back to a halt, panting softly before looking over to check on Nono. The spy seemed to be faring about as well as Higure was himself. The Commander groaned and rolled his neck around before twirling the stone weapon in his hand.

"Their numbers seem to be dwindling," Nono stated as she ducked under an attack from one of the stone warriors. Her chakra blade around her hand arced upward and sliced one of the Ghost Warriors up vertically. As the two pieces fell to the side, Nono took the time to take a small breath before turning to the other enemies. "Are we finally making a dent?"

"Hardly," Higure replied as he used his broken, stone naginata to slice and cleave through the stone warriors. "They've split up. I guess Naruto and Shion are getting closer!" Nono smiled softly, feeling a little more at ease despite the life-threatening situation.

_'Come on you two...make it count...'_

Higure and Nono both stopped mid-attack when they saw pieces of paper fluttering down from above onto the battlefield. The two showed clear confusion before the papers shot towards all the stone soldiers. The razor sharp pieces of paper cut through the stone as though they were made of nothingness, and one by one heavy pieces and entire halves of stone warriors fell to the ground.

"Paper..." Higure questioned before turning to Nono, wondering if she had some sort of trump card hidden away. The spy was looking up into the sky, to which Higure followed her gaze.

From above, the Commander and Nono saw a blue haired woman in a familiar black cloak with red clouds descend from above, with paper wings on her back. She gently planted her feet on the ground, arms crossed as she glare at the two shinobi in front of her, Higure in particular.

The Alliance Commander blinked a bit as he felt like he had met the woman before. He slowly lifted up his hand, index finger pointed up at the sky before slowly lowering it to Konan as the realization slowly came back to him.

"You're...that Akatsuki woman..."

"Konan," the blue haired leader stated matter-of-factly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, causing Higure to feel threatened. "How nice of you to welcome us here..."

"Um...welcome...?"

"Orochimaru's servants, the Serpent Five, I'm surprised you actually managed to round them up for this little mission..." A genuine look of shock crossed Higure's face. Konan's eyes narrowed a bit skeptically on him, restraining herself from attacking the man immediately.

"Lady Konan, right," Nono asked. The blue haired woman turned to the spy as she stepped forward. Nono bowed her head and smiled, "I'm glad you received my letter back in the Land of Demons." Now Konan was the one who showed surprise. Nono lifted up her head, showing a kind and caring smile to Konan. "My name is Nono, a spy within Akatsuki under jurisdiction of Master Yahiko."

Konan could only sigh and shake her head at this. "Keeping more secrets...I guess that's what happens when you're working with spies and assassins..."

"I can vouch for Higure, we found him trapped and he's been with me the entire time," Nono explained. "We haven't encountered any other Alliance shinobi, and he says he only came here with seven others."

"As far as I know, the Serpent Five are helping Orochimaru with creating various outposts all throughout the Land of Fire." The two women of Akatsuki stared at the Commander for a few seconds. He stared back at them, "What...?"

"Shouldn't information like that be a little more sensitive," Nono questioned. Higure rolled his eyes, displaying his lack of worry at the situation. For some reason, the Commander's indifferent attitude only seemed to upset her even more.

_'Maybe I just hate all men or something...'_

"Look, you hate the Alliance, I get that. But right now Moryo is the threat to both parties. Could we work together to stop him instead of distrusting each other?"

"If Alliance shinobi hadn't attacked us, then yes. For now, I can't trust you."

Nono stepped forward in front of Higure and Konan both, "Then trust me milady. I've spent a long time with this man, and I believe he's trustworthy. If he does anything to betray that trust, then I'll take full responsibility for it."

Konan narrowed her skeptical eyes and then shot them at Higure for a moment before looking back at Nono. "Why would you trust an Alliance ninja like this?"

Nono's mind went back to Higure revealing the fact his niece was in the Land of Swamps with him, and was easily his weakest link. "Call it a hunch..."

Konan sighed and shook her head with wariness. She knew that there were larger issues at stake than just the Alliance and Akatsuki. "Very well then, I'll follow your intuition Nono..."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence Lady Konan." The Akatsuki founder nodded and shot another look at Higure before walking down the path.

"I'll take point."

"Fine with me," Higure replied, becoming just a bit annoyed at the lack of trust. Even though Konan was justified to be paranoid of him, Higure couldn't get the accusation of the Serpent Five being in the land out of his mind.

_'As if there weren't enough problems on this mission...last thing I wanna deal with is an Alliance conspiracy...'_

* * *

Itachi had continued towards the mountain that contained Moryo's body. His eyes had narrowed, Sharingan activated as a precaution. His mind went back to his fight with the five other shinobi under the affects of the Edo Tensei, and how they suddenly disappeared without warning. As much as he would have hated to admit it, Itachi was getting overwhelmed with the five-to-one odds he was facing. It made no sense for his enemies to retreat when they had the advantage in battle.

Even disregarding the use of the Edo Tensei in the Land of Swamps, the fact that he encountered Madara Uchiha, who stole that clone of Naruto, wherever it came from, weighed heavily in his mind. Part of Itachi wondered if the masked man he encountered was indeed the legendary Uchiha, even with all the obvious signs pointing to confirm that suspicion.

Itachi stopped when he heard something digging through the ground nearby. He looked to the side and saw something tunneling through the ground towards him. As Itachi put his guard up, the burrower came out of the ground, revealing none other than Yahiko, with an unconscious, silver haired boy on his back.

"Is he...?" Itachi asked.

Yahiko nodded, looking back on the boy he carried, "He'll live at least...but he needs medical attention." Yahiko looked back at the conscious member of the Akatsuki, "What about Naruto, did you find him?"

"The Naruto we were chasing was...a fake." Itachi opened his eyes, seeing Yahiko's confused expression. The young Uchiha crossed his arms, knowing that he'd receive such a reaction from anyone he tried to explain things to. "While I was chasing Naruto, I called out to him, but he didn't even acknowledge me. I used my Sharingan, and saw that it had a different chakra signature than Naruto's. Not only that, but it did indeed have a seal on its body, but the seal was entirely different than the one placed on him by his father, Minato Namikaze."

Yahiko's face slowly grew more and more incredulous, "Someone...created a copy of Naruto...?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but how likely would it be that Naruto is running through the forest naked with a tail, and pretends like he doesn't know us?" Yahiko's face fell at the blatant statement of Itachi's. The orange haired man's mouth simply hung open as he tried to think of how to respond to his subordinate.

_'That promotion seems more and more likely for him...'_

"I know it's crazy...but I encountered Madara Uchiha, the masked man, while pursuing the fake Naruto..." Yahiko's expression of bafflement quickly changed to one of alarm as he looked back to Itachi. The young Uchiha looked upset, "I couldn't stop him from taking the fake Naruto in some sort of...jutsu...but Madara confirmed that the Naruto he took was indeed a fake...and that our Naruto has something to do with his plans."

Yahiko placed his hand up to his chin, a thoughtful expression printing on his face. "Most likely the Kyuubi inside of Naruto is what he's after..."

"I thought that too at first," Itachi admitted. Yahiko's blue eyes traveled to Itachi's, a curious expression on his face. "But then I thought back to my conversation with Madara...he, nor I ever mentioned the Kyuubi. He simply stated his purposes concerned Naruto, and implied that the clone could replace Naruto in his scheme..."

Yahiko scowled a bit, clenching his hands into tight fists. He and everyone else in Akatsuki knew his status as a Jinchuriki would make him a high priority target, but it never occurred to him that someone would want Naruto for some purpose besides the fox in him.

"This is getting complicated," Yahiko voiced softly. The orange haired man closed his eyes again and shook his head before turning to Itachi. "We have too much to do right now. We'll tell your findings to the other leaders of Akatsuki when we get back home. For now, we need to try to stop Moryo." Itachi nodded before Yahiko turned towards the mountain and sprinted towards it.

Despite the two rogues were focused on their mission now, both of them couldn't get the thought of Naruto's fate in their heads. Besides the boy being a spectacular ninja for his age, and the Kyuubi within him, they couldn't think of anything worth stealing him over. The worst part was, the fact they didn't know scared them the most.

* * *

Sakura and Shion climbed to the top of the trail right outside of the entrance. Waiting between them and the cave were hundreds of stone warriors from Moryo's Ghost Army. Sakura scowled angrily as her teammates caught up to her and Shion.

"Wow," Zaku murmured.

"We need to get through them," Sakura stated, slamming one of her fists into her open, gloved hand.

"This is gonna suck," Dosu stated with an already exhausted tone.

"Think you can get Lady Shion in the cave fast enough," Sakura asked, turning to Dosu. The masked boy gave her a look of disbelief and huffed.

"I am the fastest, but there are a few problems: I'm also the heaviest hitter with my Eight Branches Strike jutsu. Also, the Priestess probably couldn't handle the speeds I can go at without puking her brains out."

"Don't even bother asking me," Zaku said. The three others turned to the boy, who was already putting himself under the affects of his Curse Mark. Shion gasped softly, looking terrified before Sakura placed a hand on the Priestess's back. The two looked at each other, with Sakura giving a sorry, comforting smile.

"Don't worry, he's not a demon or anything." Shion nodded wordlessly, somehow feeling at ease despite Zaku's unnerving appearance. For whatever reason, Sakura's presence reminded her faintly of Naruto, which also strengthened her desire to save him.

"It's up to you Sakura, unless you want her to go it alone," Dosu stated. Both he and Zaku gave each other a quick glance, knowing that with Naruto at stake that she'd assuredly go on ahead.

"Are you ready Lady Shion," Sakura asked as the stone warriors readied themselves. Shion swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and nodded firmly.

"Let's get the party started then," Dosu said, rolling up his sleeve to reveal his Serpent Arm Device. "Eight Branches Strike!" White, searing hot chakra briefly exploded around Dosu's arm before he sent a quick punch towards the center of the Ghost Army.

A ball of white chakra was fired from Dosu's fist, and easily disintegrated anything in its path before exploding, destroying a handful of the stone warriors.

"GO!" Both Zaku and Dosu shot themselves into the fray, using their speed to sweep between their foes, gaining their attention while also dealing a bit of damage to them. Dosu had shut off his Serpent Arm, not wanting to burn through what chakra he had left.

Sakura turned to Shion and grabbed her by the wrist, "Let's go Lady Shion!"

The two girls ran towards the battle fearlessly, both wearing the same determined looks as their will to save Naruto drove them forward.

Pieces of stone and explosions went off around the two, but Sakura led them along the safest paths while using her newly discovered super strength to shatter a few of the stone warriors in her way. Shion looked at Sakura in awe, both admiring and fearing the girl's drive and power.

"Get the hell out of our way! CHA!" Sakura slammed her fist into the direct center of a stone warrior, causing a large explosion-effect out of its back as rocks and pebbles hit the ground.

From a distance, Dosu and Zaku both smirked as their teammate managed to get herself and Shion into the cavern. "I swear, Sakura is gonna get stronger than both of us before too long," Zaku said, his smile growing wider.

"She isn't that far behind us as it is," Dosu replied, holding his ground against a pair of stone warriors. "And we both have somewhat unfair advantages."

"Sakura is a hell of a chick then!" Zaku shouted at the top of his lungs as he smashed his way through several soldiers of the Ghost Army. Dosu huffed and nodded in agreement before he joined Zaku in destroying the soldiers.

In the midst of the fight, several explosions went off on separate sides of the battlefield. Dosu and Zaku both stopped in confusion, knowing that neither of them were responsible for said explosions. The two boys jumped when they heard a figure land behind them and spun around to see who it was.

An man with spiky black hair, wearing a long black cloak with red clouds and orange goggles stood up and looked at the two boys, "Hiya."

"Uh...hiya," Zaku replied nervously at the presence of an Akatsuki member. While staring at the older man, Zaku was unaware of a stone warrior about to strike him down from behind. An explosion went off point-blank, not hurting Zaku at all, but paralyzed him with fear nonetheless.

In the air above them stood a blonde member of Akatsuki on an odd bird that appeared to be made of clay. Dosu and Zaku both looked at each other and then at the spiky haired Akatsuki member closest to them.

"It's not exactly our style, but since your friend took the Priestess to stop Moryo, I guess we won't mind helping you," the goggles wearing Akatsuki member said. He looked up and grinned, placing his hands on his hips. "Right Deidara?"

"Well they're not from Iwagakure, so I don't give a damn," the blonde artist snapped defensively. "Just make sure you don't interfere with my art, and that goes double for you Obito, hm!"

The three shinobi watched as Deidara flew to the other side of the battlefield to bombard the enemy with his clay bombs. Zaku pointed to the blonde artist and looked at Obito. "What's his problem?"

"Artists have a stick up their ass or something," Obito replied with a confused look. The man shrugged his shoulders and shook his head before smiling down at Zaku, "At least that's what I think he was trying to tell me when he was explaining the meaning of art." Zaku chuckled and then pointed to Obito and turned to Dosu.

"I like this guy."

"Focus!" Dosu ducked under a strike and then delivered a swift uppercut that blew the head of stone soldier off. The masked boy was upset that he already took out at least two of the soldiers while Zaku was making buddies with the enemy.

The two jokesters turned to their enemies and darted off in opposite directions to spread the enemy thinner, hopefully making their jobs easier.

Before any of them could attack however, a large chunk of the Ghost Army was blown apart of sliced clean through by an unseen, quick force.

Obito, Zaku, and Dosu all stood together, blinking in confusion before they heard feet hit the ground behind them. The trio tensed up before turning around slowly, seeing a woman dressed in a long black cloak similar to Obito's, a man with light brown hair dressed in a Konohagakure vest over a mantle cloak, and an unfamiliar woman with light hair and glasses, dressed as a kindly nun.

The two trios stared at one another, with Obito, Zaku, and Dosu having more perplexed looks on their faces when compared to the older three.

"Boys," Higure finally spoke before looking over at the Akatsuki male. "Obito...it's been awhile."

"A long while Higure sensei," Obito replied, smirking a bit that his sensei's old friend hadn't changed. "I heard you came out of retirement."

"Yeah, not really my choice," Higure said as he unfolded his arms. "But who knows, maybe I came out of retirement for things like this?"

"Fighting legions of stone warriors, or staying at home safe and sound," Zaku mused, holding his hands out as if they were weighing scales. "I'd choose to stay home." The Commander rolled his eyes before catching Konan's cold gaze. He looked to his left where the other woman of the group was, and she was staring right back at him too.

"Right, okay, we're working with Akatsuki for now to fight the Ghost Army, sound good?" Dosu and Zaku both gave Higure a dull, dead gaze. The older shinobi sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Just wanted to make sure, damn."

"Whipped by your new girlfriend or somethin' boss," Zaku asked jokingly. Konan shot a glare at Zaku which wiped the smirk off his face, and sent a shiver of fear throughout his body.

"I suggest we separate our forces for the time being," Higure said, shifting his attention to the fiery bluenette. "In case the other half of my group shows up...they'll be less willing to work with Akatsuki I think."

"You have Fu the Jinchuriki with you and Kurotsuchi, right?" Higure nodded as he held up two more fingers to add to the already stated roster.

"As well as Anko Mitarashi, and Rin Nohara." Obito's ears perked up at the name of his old teammate, as well as his heart almost skipping a beat. Higure lowered his arm and then turned to face the opposite direction as Konan. "If they manage to catch up to us on the mountain, I'll try to keep them away from your people. Fu will more than likely want to take our the failure of Takigakure out on what members of Akatsuki she can get her hands on, and Kurotsuchi has that history with Deidara as well."

"What about the other two," Konan asked as she signaled for Nono and Obito both to start attacking the Ghost Army. Nono did so without question or pause, but Obito lingered for a bit, wondering about his old comrade, and childhood crush.

"Anko Mitarashi is loyal to Danzo, and a former subordinate of Orochimaru, so I'm not sure how she'd deal with Akatsuki at all. And Rin Nohara is a former student of Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash, and teammate of Obito's. Still, times have changed, so I'm not sure exactly where Rin stands on the issue."

Both Zaku and Dosu shot past Higure, tearing through one stone warrior that tried to attack their Commander as he remained motionless and unfazed by the sudden movement. Konan turned her head slightly towards Higure, who met her gaze as well with an aloof look in his eyes.

"Those two boys can be trusted. They're my niece's teammates after all." Konan nodded then looked back at Obito. The young Uchiha gave a hesitant look, not entirely satisfied with the information on Rin, before he turned around and did his duty to assist Nono in fighting the stone warriors.

Higure turned forward and headed to help Zaku and Dosu before the blue haired rogue stopped him. The two stared at one another yet again when Konan spoke first, "I have three others out there as well. Yahiko, Kiriya, and Itachi Uchiha. None of them have any love for the Alliance, so be cautious if you run into them. I'll keep my people off your back if you do the same. But if we happen to cross them..."

"Duty calls I suppose," Higure said with a disappointed voice. Konan nodded, the same hesitant look in her eyes. Part of Konan wished that such an honorable man would have came to Akatsuki, but she pushed such feelings aside.

The two leaders nodded to each other, understanding what needed to be done before they hopped off in opposite directions to help their separate allies.

* * *

**So, as I promised, two chapters in one month, due to missing the update last month xP Hopefully you all enjoy. The Land of Demons arc is ending next chapter, then we're onto new and exciting things xP I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the rest of the story so far. Feel free to post a review on your way out ^^**


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